^ 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


CICELY    CAMli   TIIIRU. 


THE    LAND   OF 

TAWNY    BEASTS 

By   Pierre    Mael,>^i^^^ 

TRANSLATED  BY 

Elizabeth   Luther  Cary 
M^ith  fifty-two  illustrations  by  A.   Paris 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 
Publishers 


Copgrigbt,  1895- 
jfrcberich  B.  Stores  Compang 


C37 


TO  MY  FRIEND 

MAURICE    DUBAREL, 

INSPECTOR  GENERAL  OF  THE  COLONIES,  IN  CHARGE  OF 
THE  INSPECTION  SERVICE. 

VERY  AFFECTIONATELY, 

P.  M 


jv!304133 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

I.  A  Scientific  Flurry,     .         .        .        . 

II.  Devotees  of  the  Fire  God, 

III,  The  Tarai,      ...... 

IV.  Varieties  of  Monsters, 

V.  The  Guardians  of  the  Holy  Ganges, 

VI.  The  Sacred  River,        .         .         .        . 

VII.  The  Dhaulagir/,  .        .        .         . 

VIII.  The  Ambuscade,  .        .        .         . 

IX.  A  Cloud, 

X.  Blockaded,     .         .        .        .        .        , 

XI.  The  Dholes, 

XII.  The  Chingo-pa-iMari,      .         .         .         . 

XIII.  The  Avalanche,  .         .        .         . 

XIV.  Failure  of  Air,     .         .         .         ,         . 
XV.  The  Crater, 

XVI.  Rivalry  Between  Heroes, 

XVII.  The  Death  of  a  Hero, 


I 
i8 
34 
52 
69 

87 
105 
123 
141 
158 

175 
192 

209 

226 

242 

259 
275 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACK 

The  Newcomer  Drained  the  Glass  at  a  Single  Draught,            .  i 

Madar-Goun  Called  Gently,           .......  15 

At  their  Head  Walked  a  Tall  Old  Man,               .         .         .        .  18 

The  Brahmin  Extended  his  Arms,            .         .         .         ...  23 

They  Set  Out  upon  their  Way,        . 34 

The  Stag  Sniffed  the  Wind,             .         .         .         .         ...  47 

The  Monk  Designated  Ramu, .52 

A  Single  Blow  of  the  Ax  Decapitated  the  Creature,        .         .  61 
They  Drew  Cecil  Weldon,  almost  Swooning,  from  under  the 

Buffalo's  Body, 69 

The  Buffaloes  and  the  Gaurs  Rushed  upon  the  Kraal,      .         .  75 

The  Bohemians  had  in  their  Train  an  Immense  Flock  of  Sheep,  87 

Cicely  Went  Third,          .........  103 

The  Governor  Sent  two  Officers  to  Meet  the  Travelers,         . .  105 

The  Governor  Gave  them  an  Audience,         .         .         .         .  115 

The  Traitor  had  Dropped  upon  his  Knees,  .         .         .         -123 

The  Assailant  Could  be  Seen  to  Turn  over  Several  Times,      .  137 

Miss  Weldon  Gave  the  Chief  an  American  Doll,          .         .         .  141 

The  Major  Extended  his  Hand  to  Merrien,         ....  153 

The  Three  Rifles  Threatened  the  Assailants,    ....  158 

Cicely  Felt  that  she  was  Lost,      .......  165 

The  Troop  Approached,  .         .         .         ..        .         .         .         -175 

The  Entire  Pack  Passed;         ........  189 


VIU 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Caravan  Crossed  on  the  Large  Stones, 

Cicely  Felt  the  Elephant  at  her  Heels, 

Graec'h  Flourished  the  Rope,        .         ,         .         .     , 

A  Cry  of  Despair  Rang  Out,  .... 

They  were  Lying  in  the  Shade  of  the  Pine  Trees, 

The  Yak  Passed  Like  a  Streak  of  Light, 

The  Companions  Emerged,  One  after  the  Other, 

GouLAB  Stretched  Out  his  Hands  to  the  Doctor, 

The  Flame  Rose,  Clear  and  Bright, 

EuzEN  Graec'h  Placed  the  Young  Girl  on  his  Shoulder, 

Plumptre  Got  Rid  of  the  Man,      .         .         . 

Euzen  Hurled  Ramu  into  the  Waters  of  the  Torrent, 


PAGE 
209 

221 

226 

-?)?> 
242 

267 

275 
287 


'^  '/■■  //My'- 


THE    NKWCOMF.R    DRAINED    THE    GLASS    AT    A    SINGLE    DRAUGHT. 


THE  LAND  OF  TAWNY  BEASTS. 


A    SCIENTIFIC     FLURRY. 

The  landlord  of  Great  Tower  Inn,  one  of  the  best 
hotels  of  Srinagar,  was  literally  worn  out. 

That  morning,  the  isth  of  March,  1890,  he  had  been 
obliged  since  daybreak  hastily  to  prepare  his  rooms— which 
numbered  forty— to  receive  an  influx  of  travelers  such  as 
he  had  never  before  seen.  The  previous  night  he  had 
received,  one  after  another,  the  two  following  dispatches  : 

'*  Mr.  Cecil  Weldon  begs  Mr.  Jackson  of  the  Great 
Tower  Inn,  to  keep  six  rooms  for  five  gentlemen  and 
himself." 

''  Keep  an  apartment  for  the  R.  H.  Major  Plumptre  and 
six  persons  of  his  attendance." 


2  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

The  first  of  these  dispatches  came  from  Bombay,  the 
second  from  Calcutta. 

The  excellent  Jackson  had  thus  disposed  of  thirteen 
rooms.  Twenty-six  others  had  been  retained  on  that 
same  15th  of  March,  by  divers  travelers,  all  of  different 
nationalities.  Of  the  number,  fifteen  were  English,  which 
goes  without  saying,  three  were  German,  two  Belgian,  two 
Russian,  two  Italian.  The  remaining  two  were  highly 
educated  Hindus,  speaking  several  languages,  and  educated 
in  various  English  schools.  Dr.  Lall-Sing-Catterjee  and  his 
young  disciple,  Madar-Goun,  physician  of  the  University  of 
Paris. 

There  remained  a  twenty-seventh  room,  which  the 
honest  Mr.  Jackson  was  reserving,  with  all  sorts  of  scruples, 
for  a  traveler  long  since  announced  and  expected. 

He  did  not  know  his  guests  present  and  to  come.  One 
of  them,  however,  bore  a  reputation.  This  was  the  Right 
Honorable  Major  Plumptre,  a  Scotchman  from  the  Highlands, 
the  youngest  son  of  a  noble  family,  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
officers  of  the  Indian  Army,  and,  moreover,  already  cele- 
brated by  his  remarkable  ascents  of  Hindu  Kush  and  the 
Himalayas. 

What  then  was  the  motive  that  drew  such  a  crowd  into 
the  capital  of  Kashmir  ?  Was  it  the  commencement  of  the 
heated  term  in  Bengal  and  the  Deccan  ?  No,  for  sojourners 
in  those  countries  found  nearer  at  hand  summer  resorts 
in  which  they  could  seek  coolness,  in  the  Nilgiris  for  the 
people  of  the  south,  for  those  of  Calcutta  at  Darjiling. 

The  explanation  of  this  eagerness  could  only  be  fur- 
nished by  reading  the  English  newspapers.  Three  days 
before,  in  fact,  the  Morning  Post  had  published  this  news, 
which  had  stirred  the  scientific  world,  and  which  the 
Indian  gazettes  had  immediately  copied. 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  3 

''  In  all  probability  the  French  traveler,  Jean  Merrien, 
whose  departure  from  Batum  by  the  Trans-Caspian  Rail- 
road, for  the  purpose  of  repeating  the  adventurous  pass- 
age across  the  Pamirs  accomplished  by  Messrs.  Bon- 
valot,  Capus,  and  Pepin,  we  announced  three  months  ago, 
will  presently  arrive  at  the  gates  of  India,  according  to 
reports  sent  to  the  authorities  of  the  frontier  by  the  Gover- 
nor of  Balkh."' 

How  and  why  had  this  simple  notice  had  the  power  to 
move  scholars  and  to  attract  to  Srinagar  such  a  concourse 
of  the  curious  ? 

The  reason  was  that,  three  months  previous,  Jean  Mer- 
rien had  made  known  his  intention  of  entering  India  by  way 
of  land.  But  this  feat  would  not  have  sufficed  to  provoke 
such  excitement.  M.  Gabriel  Bonvalot  having  already  suc- 
cessfully accomplished  it,  if  Merrien  had  not  betrayed,  at 
the  same  time,  his  intention  of  scaling  the  giant  of  the 
Himalayas,  the  peak  Gaurisankar,  called  Mt.  Everest  by  the 
English,  and  reputed  the  highest  of  the  formidable  chain  of 
which  Kinchinjinga,  Sihsour,  and  Dhaulagiri,  rival  one 
another  in  height. 

To  scale  Gaurisankar !  What  height  of  audacity  !  And 
a  Frenchman,  too  !  A  Frenchman  come  from  France,  one 
of  those  barbarians  whom  it  is  customary  to  make  fun  of 
nowadays,  since  the  great  humiliation  of  France  in  1870. 
Only  the  serious  people  of  England  value  him  more  highly 
than  does  France.  They  credit  him  with  a  history  of  six- 
teen centuries.  They  know  that  what  a  Frenchman  reso- 
lutely undertakes  he  accomplishes — witness  this  same 
Bonvalot  and  his  prodigious  passage  across  the  Pamirs. 

Thus  the  excitement,  though  great,  was  justified. 

At  Calcutta,  among  other  cities  of  the  British  Empire, 


4  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

numerous  projects  had  been  formed.  It  had  not  for  an 
instant  entered  the  minds  of  our  trusty  adversaries  to  hinder 
the  bold  traveler  in  his  attempt.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
had  said  with  one  accord:  "We  must  not  permit  this 
Frenchman  to  be  the  only  one  to  perform  his  exploit.  An 
Englishman  must  precede  him,  and  the  day  that  he  sets 
foot  upon  the  inviolate  crest  of  the  peak,  he  shall  find  there 
the  flag  of  Great  Britain  planted  by  English  hands." 

This  was  the  general  sentiment,  and  this  sentiment 
found  special  echo  in  the  soul  of  Major  George  Plumptre, 
the  most  valiant  of  the  adopted  sons  of  Albion,  since 
Scotland  is  only  sister  by  adoption  to  England. 

The  brave  officer  at  once  made  his  arrangements  for  the 
campaign  that  he  was  about  to  undertake. 

Duly  authorized  by  his  superiors,  provided  with  an  un- 
limited leave  of  absence,  he  prepared  his  equipment,  the 
arms  and  utensils  necessary  to  this  perilous  expedition. 
He  called  together  two  of  his  friends,  a  Dr.  William  Ran- 
dolph, and  Captain  James  MacKinnon.  Each  of  these 
was  accompanied  by  a  Hindu  domestic.  The  major  on 
his  part  retained  two,  one  of  whom,  Bardwar  by  name, 
was  an  Afghan  of  Chitral,  a  mountaineer  of  unusual  vigor 
and  audacity.  The  seven  men  landed  together  on  the 
morning  of  the  15th  of  March  at  Srinagar. 

During  the  day  there  arrived  at  the  Great  Tower  Inn 
Mr.  Cecil  Weldon  and  his  five  companions. 

Jackson  remarked,  not  without  some  surprise,  that, 
among  the  five  ''gentlemen  "  announced,  was  a  woman  of 
a  certain  age,  wearing  the  appearance  of  a  stewardess  or 
housekeeper.  He  was  struck,  moreover,  by  the  extreme 
youth,  the  frail  and  delicate  aspect,  and  the  gentle  voice 
of  Cecil  Weldon  himself 

"Jupiter!"    said  he  to   Mrs.  Jackson,  an   exclamation 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  5 

habitual  to  him,  "this  young  man  has  all  the  appearance 
of  a  young  woman  in  disguise  I "' 

But  the  ease  with  which  Cecil  Weldon  wore  his 
masculine  costume  subdued  all  his  doubts.  Furthermore, 
the  pseudo  young  woman  was  accompanied  by  four  tine 
fellows,  of  herculean  build,  who  spoke  to  him  as  soldiers 
to  a  superior.  Mrs.  Jackson  was  the  first  to  say  to 
her  husband  : 

"1  do  not  know  where  your  wits  are.  Bob.  This 
young  gentleman  is  certainly  one  of  the  very  prettiest 
boys  I  have  ever  seen  in  my  life.  He  is  too  pretty  a  man 
to  be  an  ugly  girl." 

And  with  this  observation,  worthy  of  the  great  French- 
man La  Palisse,  the  good  landlady  went  to  look  to  her 
ovens.  She  wished  to  do  honor  to  the  distinguished  guests 
that  Providence  had  sent. 

The  two  groups  met  in  the  evening  at  the  table  d'hote. 
The  major  and  his  friends  were  forewarned.  And  already 
their  British  pride  had  taken  alarm.  Their  thoughts  were 
no  longer  occupied  by  the  imprudent  Frenchman  alone. 
They  had  just  learned  that  this  Mr.  Weldon  and  his  party 
were  Americans,  who  had  crossed  from  New  York  to  Lon- 
don, from  London  to  France,  and  from  France,  by  the 
{Messageries  {Maritimes,  to  Bombay,  where  they  had  taken 
the  train  which  had  brought  them  by  way  of  Miiltan, 
Lahore,  and  Rawal  Pindi,  to  Srinagar,  where  they  arrived 
toward  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Of  course  conversation  opened  promptly.  The  major 
did  not  like  to  tlnd  himself  confronted  with  strangers. 
Had  he  not  been  seen,  in  the  last  English  expedition 
into  Afghanistan,  to  advance  alone,  helmet  in  hand,  to 
meet  a  hostile  column,  and  after  a  ceremonious  salute, 
to  cry  to  the  officer  who  commanded  the  detachment : 


6  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

''Sir,  I  beg  your  pardon.  Tell  me,  please,  your 
name." 

And  the  Afghan  who,  luckily,  spoke  English,  had 
laughed  gallantly  at  this  sally  of  the  adventurous  Scotch- 
man. He  had  given  his  name  and  first  name,  after  which 
he  had,  not  less  politely,  invited  the  ''  Inglis  "  to  return  and 
defend  himself.  Plumptre,  satisfied,  retraced  his  steps  and 
said  to  his  companions  in  arms  : 

''Decidedly  these  Pathans  have  been  calumniated. 
They  know  very  well  how  to  behave." 

Such  was  the  man  who  found  himself  seated  opposite 
the  young  American  Weldon  at  the  great  central  table  of 
the  Grand  Tower  Hotel.  From  the  moment  Jackson's 
guests  had  taken  their  places  at  dinner,  they  had  not 
ceased  their  observation  of  one  another. 

The  major  appealed  directly  to  Cecil  Weldon. 

"Sir,"  he  commenced,  "you  come  from  New  York, 
I  am  told." 

The  frail  Yankee,  with  the  feminine  ring  to  his  voice, 
responded  : 

"You  have  been  correctly  informed,  sir.  We  come 
from  New  York,  my  companions  and  I." 

"  Ah !"  said  the  officer.  "As  forme,  I  come  from 
Calcutta,  which  is  a  good  deal  nearer.  But  perhaps  our 
aim  is  the  same,  and  we  are  rivals  without  know- 
ing it  ?  " 

Mr.  Cecil  Weldon  had  a  charming  smile,  which 
aroused  the  same  doubts  in  the  major's  mind  that  it 
had  excited  in  the  less  distinguished  brain  of  the  excel- 
lent Bob  Jackson.     He  replied  : 

"Sir,  I  cannot  say  if  we  are  rivals.  1  have  come 
with  my  friends  to  attempt  the  ascent  of  Mount  Gauri- 
sankar,  which  a    Frenchman,    they   say,    is   preparing  to 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  7 

climb.  I  have  thought,  with  all  my  fellow-citizens  of 
New  York,  that  this  would  cast  shame  upon  the  most 
advanced  people  of  the  world " 

The  officer  here  interrupted  with  a  certain  vivacity  : 

''Young  man,  the  most  advanced  people  of  the 
world  are  certainly  the   English  people." 

Mr.  Weldon  smiled  suggestively.  He  saluted  British 
susceptibility  with  a  shade  of  irony. 

''  Upon  the  road  to  Gaurisankar,  assuredly,  sir,  since 
Calcutta  is  nearer  to  it  than  New  York ;  while,  to  tell 
the  truth,  at  the  present  moment  New  York  and  Cal- 
cutta are  together  at  Kashmir." 

''Upon  every  road,  sir!"  cried  the  fuming  English- 
man. 

The  young  Yankee,  not  wishing  to  enter  upon  a 
discussion  of  this  subject,  parried  him  courteously : 

"It  will  be  very  easy  for  us  to  sustain  our  flags 
upon  the  summits  of  the   Himalayas." 

"What!"  cried  Plumptre,  "you  intend  to  attempt 
the  ascent  ?  " 

"That  is,   indeed,  my  intention,  sir." 

"But,  my  good  fellow,  you  have  no  suspicion  of  the 
dangers  of  this  undertaking  ! " 

A  light  gleamed  in  the  steel-blue  eyes  of  the  young 
man.  His  voice  was  cutting  as  a  sword-blade,  when, 
looking  fearlessly  into  the  face  of  his  haughty  inter- 
locutor, he  responded  : 

"  Major  Plumptre,  I  have  accomplished  in  the  course 
of  my  existence  things  quite  as  difficult.  1  have  been 
among  the  ices  of  the  North  Pole,  as  far  as  the  encamp- 
ments of  Greely  and  Nares.  I  have  climbed  Chimborazo, 
Cotopaxi,  the  giants  of  the  Andes,  and  the  Kilimanjaro 
in  Africa.     I   have   crossed   Niagara,  and  the  Zambezi  at 


8  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

the  very  brink  of  their   cataracts.    You  see   that   1   may 
attempt  the  scaling  of  Gaurisankar." 

The  Englishman  stretched  a  large  and  loyal  hand 
across  the  table  to  the  proud  youth. 

''All  right.  You  are  worthy  o\  me.  Let  us  make  a 
compact  between  ourselves,  as  becomes  Saxon  brothers. 
We  will  prevent  the  miserable  Frenchman  from  being 
the  first  to  arrive." 

The  honest  major  forgot  that  he  was  Saxon  only  by 
annexation,  being  descended  from  the  Scots  and  Picts 
of  old  Caledonia.  No  matter !  He  believed  his  honor 
concerned  in  the  defeat  of  France. 

The  Yankee  responded  with  energy  to  the  hand- 
clasp ;  but  he  added  : 

''  Each  for  himself,  major.  I  intend  to  beat  not 
only  France,  but  Old  England  as  well.  Hurrah  for 
Young  America !  " 

The  other  travelers  around  them  kept  silence,  listen- 
ing with  interest.  The  two  Hindu  physicians,  in  particu- 
lar, showed  close  attention.  The  major  was  doubtless 
about  to  say  something  in  reply  to  the  provoking  frank- 
ness of  his  frail  antagonist,  when  suddenly  a  clear  and 
vibrant  voice  rang  out,  saying  in  good  French  :  ''  France 
is  not  yet  beaten,  gentlemen  !  She  salutes  her  trusty 
adversaries,  and  drinks  to  their  health." 

*At  the  same  time  a  man  crossed  the  room,  came  directly 
to  the  table,  where  he  filled  a  glass  of  champagne,  and, 
raising  it  to  the  level  of  his  head  : 

''To  Young  America,  whom  France  aided  at  Pittsburg 
and  at  Yorktown  ;  to  Old  England,  whom  France  succored 
at  Inkermann  ! " 

The  newcomer  drained  the  glass  at  a  single  draught. 
He  was  a  man   of  stature  a  trifle  above  the  medium,  of 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  9 

athletic  build.  His  face,  with  its  refined  though  clearly 
marked  features,  revealed  indomitable  energy. 

A  single  cry  broke  from  the  lips  of  all,  amid  universal 
astonishment : 

''Jean  Merrien  !    Jean  Merrien  !" 

The  stranger  proudly  saluted  the  assembled  company. 

''Yes,  gentlemen,  Jean  Merrien,  himself,  alive  in  the 
flesh,  who  has  Just  crossed  the  Pamirs  after  Bonvalot,  and 
who  will  set  out  again  to-morrow — with  you,  if  that  please 
you  ;  if  not,  without  you — for  the  mountains  of  Karakoram." 

There  was  a  fresh  exclamation.  The  rivals  of  the  bold 
Frenchman  failed  to  comprehend. 

"  But  isn't  it  Gaurisankar  that  you  purpose  climbing  ?  " 
asked  Cecil  Weldon. 

"  Precisely  so,  monsieur.    It  is  indeed  Gaurisankar." 

"You  spoke,  just  now,  of  Karakoram  :  the  Gaurisankar 
road  does  not  lie  in  that  direction." 

The  French  explorer  regarded  his  interlocutor  with  a 
suspicion  of  disdain. 

"  My  young  sir,  it  must  be  believed  that  Americans  are 
badly  informed  as  to  Asiatic  geography.  If  you  had  come, 
as  1  did,  by  the  north,  you  would  know  that  Gaurisankar 
is  climbed  only  by  the  north  ;  the  roads  of  the  south  are 
closed." 

"Ah!  And  why  are  they  closed?"  asked  M^njor 
Plumptre,  with  curiosity. 

"  Because  the  15th  of  March  is  here,  when  the  snows 
of  the  southern  slope  commence  to  melt,  and  the  flooded 
streams  render  the  Tarai  impassable.  But  that  is  not  the 
true  reason  for  so  long  a  detour.  If  1  ascend  by  the 
north  it  is  simply  because  the  frontiers  of  Nepal  and  those 
of  Bhutan  are  rigorously  interdicted  to  Europeans  who  have 
not  a  direct  commission  from  the  English  Government." 


lO  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

These  words  produced  profound  astonishment  and 
great  dismay  among  those  present. 

Young  Weldon,  in  particular,  appeared  a  prey  to  lively 
annoyance. 

But  Major  Plumptre,  as  a  good  servant  of  Her  Gracious 
Majesty,  protested  then  and  there. 

''Mr.  Frenchman,"  he  cried,  "it  is  permissible  for  you 
to  retrace  your  steps  and  take  the  northern  road.  Never- 
theless, if  you  trust  me,  you  will  take  my  advice.  1  will 
take  the  train  back  to  Calcutta.  1  will  see  the  Lord-Gov- 
ernor, and  1  will  undertake  to  bring  back  a  double  com- 
mission, opening  the  gates  of  Nepal  to  us — one  for  you 
and  one  for  me." 

''And  I,  major,"  implored  Cecil  Weldon;  "are  you 
going  to  leave  me  here  ?  " 

The  officer  shook  his  head  and  gave  two  or  three 
sonorous  "  humphs  !  " 

"Three  commissions,  my  dear  fellow,  maybe  a  good 
deal  to  ask.  No  matter !  1  will  make  the  attempt.  If 
necessary,  you  can  pass  as  one  of  our  party." 

The  Frenchman  and  the  Yankee  simultaneously  ex- 
tended their  hands  to  the  generous  Scotchman. 

"  Bravo,  Major  Plumptre  !  and  thanks  for  this  proof  of 
good  faith." 

The  entire  room  gave  three  cheers  for  the  officer. 
He  thanked  the  company  graciously,  and  went  at  once  to 
his  room  methodically  to  repack  his  valise.  When  he 
came  down  again,  ready  to  take  the  evening  train,  he 
went  directly  to  his  future  companions  of  the  ascent. 

"Well!"  said  he,  "1  have  reflected.  It  would  be 
much  quicker  for  you  to  come  with  me.  Instead  of  cross- 
ing the  Tarai  at  the  west,  we  will  approach  the  chain  by 
the  passes  of  Bhutan  to  the  north  of  Darjiling.     In  this  way. 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  il 

we  will  have  the  best  of  the  road,  and  we  shall  encounter, 
into  the  bargain,  three  of  the  good  brothers  or  sisters  of 
Gaurisankar  upon  the  way  :  Kinchinjinga,  Chumalari,  and 
Kinchinjaou." 

Jean  Merrien  thanked  the  Englishman  warmly  for  his 
proposition.    Then  he  said  with  a  smile  : 

"Major,  your  idea  is  inviting.  But  1  will  hold  to  my 
programme.  It  will  be  just  as  satisfactory  to  us.  We  will 
go  to  Gaurisankar  by  Dhaulagiri.  And  we  shall  at  the 
same  time  admire  Morchiadi,  Barathor,  Yassa,  Dayabang, 
and  Deorali.  Furthermore,"  he  added,  ''there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  our  coming  down  again  into  India  by  the 
road  you  just  now  mentioned,  unless  we  have  time  and 
strength  to  proceed  to  the  discovery  of  the  source  of  the 
Brahmaputra." 

''  You  are  right,  Mr.  Merrien,"  gravely  replied  the 
Scotchman.  ''The  French  have  the  reputation  of  hesitat- 
ing at  nothing.  You  nobly  sustain  that  reputation.  But  by 
Heaven,  Old  England  will  not  yield  to  you  at  any  point. 
We  will  do  all  these  things  together,  Mr.  Frenchman." 

"And  Young  America  will  be  first  at  the  summit!" 
cried  the  enthusiastic  Weldon. 

Thereupon,  as  night  had  come  on,  and  the  train  must 
not  be  missed,  a  parting  punch  was  drunk,  and  the  Euro- 
peans conducted  Major  Plumptre  to  the  station. 

Hardly  had  they  quitted  the  hotel  when  the  two  Hindu 
physicians  rose  simultaneously. 

"You  have  heard?"  asked  Lall-Sing-Catterjee  to 
Madar-Gown. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  other. 

"Thus,"  resumed  the  elder  of  the  two  men,  "  bit  by  bit, 
inch  by  inch,  our  land  is  becoming  the  prey  of  the  foreigner. 
When  it  is  not  in   the  name  of  humanity,  it   is  in   the 


12  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

name  of  science  that  they  come.  Humanity !  Ah,  yes ! 
England  loves  it,  on  condition  that  she  makes  of  it  a  great 
herd  of  slaves.  And  as  to  their  '  science,' we  know  it — 
you  and  1.  We  have  studied  upon  the  benches  of  their 
most  famous  universities.  What  have  they  then  to  teach 
us  that  we  do  not  already  know  ?  " 

He  paused,  and  clenched  his  fists  with  a  gesture  of 
savage  energy. 

''Their  science  ?  How  does  it  serve  them.  We  have 
won  their  diplomas,  we  have  the  right  to  practice  medicine 
even  in  their  own  countries.  And  when  my  European 
colleagues  come  here,  among  us,  into  this  Hindustan  that 
draws  them  and  infatuates  them,  they  do  not  know  what 
use  to  make  of  their  knowledge  of  words  and  books. 
They  have  nothing  with  which  to  heal  the  bite  of  a 
cobra  or  the  cerebral  congestion  caused  by  our  sun. 
Do  they  even  discover  the  remedy  for  cholera  or  the 
marsh  fevers,  when  our  humblest  fakirs  obtain  astonish- 
ing cures  ?  Ah,  Madar-Goun  !  my  blood  boils  at  this 
thought.  India  is  only  a  land  of  conquest  for  the  whites, 
and  the  misfortune  is,  that  she  is  becoming  accustomed  to 
her  servitude  ! " 

The  young  doctor  raised  his  head.  A  light  flashed  in 
his  eyes. 

'Ms  it  you  who  speak  thus,  master?  You,  Lall-Sing- 
Catterjee,  who  have  vowed  to  battle  all  your  life  for  the 
freedom  of  our  land  ?  Do  you  then  doubt  the  sentiment 
which  still  reigns  in  the  heart  of  the  various  countries  of 
our  soil,  which  animates  our  pundits,  which  guides  these 
very  fakirs  of  whom  you  spoke  just  now  ?  Do  you  not 
know  that  there  is  not  a  district  of  the  peninsula  in  which 
there  do  not  beat  hearts  aflame  with  the  fire  of  Independ- 
ence ?    And  we  ourselves,  are  we  not  faithful  servants  of 


A  SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY.  13 

the  'Great  Family,' jealous  to  free  our  land  from  its  Euro- 
pean oppressors  ?  " 

Lall-Sing  let  his  arms  fall  in  discouragement. 

''  I  would  fain  have  your  faith,  my  friend,  your  indom- 
itable confidence.  Alas  !  the  obstacle  is  always  present  to 
my  view.  What  can  we  do  against  these  men  ?  What 
means  do  we  command  ?  We  are  not  a  single  people  with 
our  two  hundred  million  of  inhabitants.  As  you  have  just 
said,  a  hundred  different  races  live  in  common  upon  this 
triangle  which  reaches  from  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges  to 
the  point  of  Ceylon.  A  handful  of  Englishmen  holds  this 
multitude  under  the  yoke.  Since  Tippu-Sahib,  what  use- 
less efforts,  what  attempts  drowned  in  blood  !  England  no 
longer  fears  since  the  day  when  Nana  of  Bithur  mysteri- 
ously disappeared,  and  our  still  independent  rajahs  contend 
for  the  honor  of  figuring  in  the  train  of  the  Empress-Qiieen. 
Our  secret  societies  are  no  longer  anything  more  than 
gatherings  of  f^inatics  performing  abominable  crimes  with- 
out aim  or  reason.  Moreover,  the  British  police  hunt  them 
like  wild  beasts,  and  the  Thugs  survive  only  in  legend." 

The  brows  of  Madar-Goun  were  knit.  He  made  an 
angry  gesture. 

''Ha!  what  are  you  saying!  Stigmatizing  with  the 
name  of  '  crimes '  acts  inspired  by  a  patriotism  as  sincere 
as  it  is  cruel  ?  Is  it  forus,  who  dream  of  the  emancipation 
of  our  country,  to  check  ourselves  with  such  narrow  preju- 
dices ?  What  matter  the  means,  provided  they  render  to 
the  oppressed  their  liberty  !  " 

Lall-Sing  was  less  savage  than  his  young  interlocutor. 
He  sighed  : 

''Ah,  my  friend!  you  touch  precisely  the  weak  point 
in  my  will.  1  doubt.  1  hesitate.  Is  it  indeed  true  that 
all  means  are  legitimate?     Is  it  a  cause    noble  enough, 


1 4  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

pure  enough,  to  justify  serving  it  at  the  cost  of  violence? 
And  to  redeem  a  people  who  themselves  subscribe  to  their 
dethronement,  has  one  the  right  to  spill  innocent  blood,  as 
our  brothers  so  many  times  have  done  ?  " 

The  young  doctor  gave  an  ugly  laugh. 

''Ah,  master!  you  have  too  long  sojourned  in  Europe. 
Humanitarian  sophisms  have  troubled  your  mind  and  soft- 
ened your  heart.  For  me,  who,  like  yourself,  and  even 
being  your  pupil  here,  have  studied  at  the  great  scientific 
centers  of  the  white  continent,  the  question  was  long  since 
decided.  I  make  no  scruple  in  closing  the  road  by  all  pos- 
sible means  to  the  '  pioneers  of  civilization,'  as  our  adver- 
saries call  themselves,  and  1  care  so  little  for  their  lives  that 
1  have,  since  morning,  notified  the  '  Great  Family '  to  hold 
itself  in  readiness  to  receive  our  communications." 

"You  have  done  that,  Madar-Goun  ?"  asked  Catterjee, 
with  an  accent  of  reproach. 

The  young  man  rapidly  passed  his  arm  under  that  of  the 
''  Master,"  and  drawing  him  out  of  doors  upon  the  Jhelum 
road,  said  to  him,  with  the  same  mocking  laugh  : 

"  You  shall  see  what  1  have  done  !  " 

They  paused  at  the  brink  of  the  river,  and  approached 
one  of  the  seven  wooden  bridges  which  connected  the  two 
banks.  Under  the  radiant  light  of  the  moon,  the  river  and 
its  quays,  with  their  houses  of  brick,  stone,  and  wood, 
took  on  a  fairy-like  aspect.  From  time  to  time  some  dis- 
tant melody,  from  an  English  harp  or  an  Hindu  instrument, 
broke  the  dense  silence  of  the  sleeping  city.  A  fresh, 
pure  breeze — a  spring  breeze  descending  from  the  southern 
chain  of  the  Panjal  Mountains,  through  the  snowy  pass  of 
Zoji — saturated  the  atmosphere  with  perfumes  gathered 
upon  its  way  in  the  lovely  Vale  of  Roses.  At  times  there 
was  also  heard  the  plash  of  oars  bringing  a  late  gondola 


MADAR-GOUN   CALLED   GENTLY. 


1 6  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

from  the  balmy  depths  of  the  Dal  Lake,  into  one  of  the 
twenty-two  canals  of  the  Indian  Venice. 

The  two  men  crossed  the  bridge,  and  approached  the 
lake.  A  bark  with  a  sharp  prow  swung  near  a  large  ghat, 
whose  marble  steps  dipped  into  the  water.  Innumerable 
gardens  stretched  in  various  directions,  filling  the  air  with 
the  odors  of  plant  and  flower.  A  man  was  lying  in  the 
boat,  and  seemed  to  be  sleeping  heavily. 

Madar-Goun  w^ent  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  called 
gently  :    ''  Pandari  !  " 

The  sleeper  bounded  to  his  feet,  and,  recognizing  who  it 
was  speaking  to  him,  leaped  ashore.  Then  he  approached 
humbly,  with  hands  extended  in  front  of  his  forehead  in 
salutation  to  receive  the  young  physician's  message. 

''Are  you  rested?  Are  you  ready?"  inquired  the 
latter. 

''You  may  speak,  sahib,"  replied  the  Hindu.  "1  am 
ready.     Is  it  time  to  go  ?  " 

"Yes,  immediately.  You  will  not  stop  until  you  reach 
Dras,  to  give  the  watchword  to  the  brother  who  will 
replace  you." 

"  Very  well,  sahib.     And  when  must  1  be  at  Dras  ?  " 

The  doctor  reflected,  and  counted  aloud.  Then,  with 
haughty  brevity,  he  gave  his  orders  : 

"It  is  eighty -two  miles  from  here  to  Dras  by  the 
Zoji  pass.  The  roads  are  bad,  but  we  have  the  start.  It 
will  be  in  time  if  you  arrive  day  after  to-morrow." 

"  I  will  be  there.     Have  you  a  writing  to  give  me  ?  " 

"No.  This  is  what  you  are  to  say  to  the  brother: 
'  The  white  men  will  number  about  ten  in  passing  the 
boundary.  They  will  doubtless  go  by  Simla,  and  will  have 
English  permits.  Let  the  brothers  of  the  Three  Ganges 
keep  watch  ! '  " 


A   SCIENTIFIC  FLURRY. 


17 


And  extending  his  hand  over  the  bowed  head  of  the 
man,  as  in  benediction,  Dr.  Madar-Goun  turned  away 
without  a  word  more,  drawing  Lall-Sing  with  him  toward 
Jhelum,  while  the  messenger  detached  the  boat,  which 
glided  over  the  silvery  waters  of  the  lake. 


srr\ 


AT  THEIR  HEAD  WALKED  A  TALL  OLD  MAN. 


11. 


DEVOTEES    OF   THE    FIRE   GOD. 

To  the  north  of  Simla,  in  the  high  valley  of  the  Sutlej, 
rise  the  first  terraces  of  the  western  Himalayas. 

There,  peaks  of  lesser  elevation  shoot  up  abruptly, 
whose  average  altitude  equals,  however,  that  of  Mont 
Blanc,  of  Maladetta,  or  the  Pic  du  Midi.  Narrow  ravines 
such  as  the  passes  of  Bhabar,  of  Manirung,  of  Dal,  and  of 
Bahbeh,  give  access  to  the  Indian  cities  of  Chipki  and 
Sultanpur. 

Below,  on  one  of  the  first  buttresses  of  the  chain, 
rises  the  wholly  English  city  of  Simla,  which  might  be 
called  the  second  capital  of  the  Indo-British  Empire,  a 
sanitarium  and  pleasure  resort  which,  during  the  great 
heat,  becomes  the  seat  of  government  itself  for  the 
viceroy,  his  household,  and  the  principal  civil  and  military 
functionaries,  move  to  these   cool   slopes,  in  this   belt   of 


DEVOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  19 

hill-country  commanding  from  a  height  of  some  seven 
thousand  feet  the  double  valley  of  the  Sutlej,  and  the 
Jumna  ;  and  covered  with  other  pleasure  resorts  and  mili- 
tary stations  such  as  Jaitak  with  its  formidable  batteries, 
Dagshai,  Sabathu,  and  Kalka. 

Below  Simla  is  found  Masuri,  and  higher  up  the  stream 
ofTaoungsa,  the  half  Indian  city  of  Chakrata. 

This  is  the  Garhwal  district,  the  original  country,  it 
is  believed,  of  the  Sikhs,  those  redoubtable  warriors  who 
issued  thence  to  conquer  the  Punjab,  and  whose  last 
king,  Ranjit  Singh,  the  "Lion  of  the  Five  Rivers," 
surrounded  by  French  generals  such  as  Allard,  N'entura, 
Avitabile,  and  De  Facien,  was  able  to  make  himself 
respected  by  the  English  to  the  day  of  his  death.  To 
Garhwal  belong  the  healthy,  picturesque,  and  fantastic- 
ally inhabited  regions  of  Kullu  and  Seoraj,  with  thei. 
Tibetan,  Rajput,  Paharan,  and  Hindustdni  populations. 
Sultanpur  is  the  capital  of  Kullu,  and  is  connected  with 
Mandi  by  a  very  pretty  road. 

Now  on  the  isth  day  of  March,  1890,  an  eager  crowd 
of  three  or  four  thousand  travelers  climbed  the  crests 
of  Sikanda-Kadar,  "Mount  Alexander,"  directing  their 
course  from  Suket  toward  Mandi,  along  the  steep  banks 
of  the  Bias.  Men,  women,  and  children,  some  on  foot, 
some  on  asses  and  mules,  appeared  hastening  toward 
their  destination.  The  sun  was  already  touching  the 
southern  peaks  which  hide  Pilaspur,  and  violet  shadows 
lengthened  on  the  lower  ranges,  while  the  rapid  fall  of 
the  temperature  gave  reason  to  fear  that  night  would 
surprise  the  pilgrims  in  the  narrow,  cold  defile. 

At  their  head  walked  a  tall  old  man,  who  was  con- 
strained by  the  increasing  chilliness  to  wrap  himself  in 
a  mantle  of  white  wool.     On  his  forehead,  the  lower  por- 


20  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

tion  of  which  was  uncovered,  were  three  scars  crossed 
and  painted  red.  He  was  a  Brahmin  by  caste  but  not  in 
office.  Those  who  followed  him  seemed  to  profess  for 
him  respect,  mingled  with  superstitious  fear.  From  time 
to  time  the  band  separated,  falling  back  upon  the  slopes  or 
the  sides  of  the  road,  to  make  way  for  some  cavalier,  an 
English  officer  in  white  undress  uniform,  his  linen  helmet 
on  his  head,  his  clanking  sabre  at  the  back  of  his  saddle, 
followed  by  a  native  soldier,  clad  in  European  dress  with 
the  exception  of  the  head-dress,  which  still  consisted  of 
the  turban  in  knotted  folds  of  the  mingled  colors  of  the 
different  regiments,  according  to  native  custom. 

Before  the  white  man  the  crowd  showed  great  humility, 
and  lavished  their  salaams  upon  the  insolent  conquerer, 
who  pushed  through  the  press  with  that  haughty  swagger 
peculiar  to  the  Saxon  race  ;  his  left  hand  upon  his  hip,  his 
right  hand  indifferently  letting  the  reins  fall  on  the  neck 
of  the  horse,  a  costly  animal  imported  from  England  or 
brought  down  from  Persia  by  the  passes  of  Afghanistan 
or  the  Pamirs.  And  the  pilgrims  no  longer  wondered  that 
a  horse  should  risk  itself  where  mules  would  hardly  ven- 
ture. They  knew,  from  having  all  too  often  heard  it  said, 
that  the  ''blond  men"  excel  in  all  bodily  exercises,  and 
take  pleasure  in  all  such  feats  of  strength  and  daring,  in 
open  defiance  of  common  sense. 

But  after  the  white  man  had  passed,  the  travelers  turned 
and  sent  after  him,  along  the  slope  of  the  frightful  preci- 
pice, looks  filled  with  execration. 

Meanwhile  darkness  was  descending  upon  the  valley, 
the  waters  of  the  Bias  became  shadowy,  and  all  the  sides 
of  Sikanda-Kadar  disappeared  under  ragged  clouds  of  mist 
drifting  obliquely  across  them.  Alone  in  the  eastern  hori- 
zon the  summits  of  the  Babah  pass  retained  a  golden  and 


DEyOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  21 

purple  light  upon  their  carpet  of  melting  snow.  Eagles 
flew  with  hoarse  cries  above  the  cedars,  the  firs,  the 
teaks,  the  cypresses  and  larches  covering  the  sides  of  the 
mountains.  From  time  to  time  a  sound,  strident  yet  sono- 
rous because  of  the  depth  of  the  echoes,  hastened  the 
footsteps  of  the  crowd.  They  well  knew  that  the  Kala 
bJgh,  the  black  tiger  of  the  Tarai,  ventures  among  these 
great  altitudes  where  sheep  abound.  Abruptly,  at  a  bend 
in  the  road,  a  sort  of  platform  of  three  or  four  square 
kilometers  revealed  itself  to  the  eyes  of  the  travelers  upon 
their  left.  Abandoning  the  bed  of  the  Bias  upon  its  right, 
the  crowd  precipitately  followed  the  Brahmin  in  the  direc- 
tion of  certain  ruins  of  rather  vague  aspect.  This  brought 
them  to  the  foot  of  shapeless  monuments,  some  formed  of 
monoliths  of  considerable  dimensions,  others  of  a  quantity 
of  stones  in  ruins. 

The  Brahmin  threw  himself  on  his  knees  before  the 
highest  of  these  time-defaced  constructions.  He  put  his 
face  against  the  earth  and  prayed  in  an  ecstasy  of  fervor. 
The  following  words  were  heard  in  his  guttural  voice, 
speaking  with  monotonous  rhythm  : 

"  Principle  of  sacred  fire  and  of  the  force  which 
destroys  in  order  to  renew;  august  brother  of  Vishnu 
whom  thou  combatest,  Sivd,  God  of  Death,  who  reignest 
upon  the  peaks  of  the  Dhaulagiri,  upon  the  triple  tooth 
of  Trikota;  thou  who  hast  created  these  rocks  and  these 
mountains  in  order  to  arrest  the  steps  of  impure  men, 
receive  our  adorations,  and  give  unto  us  the  light  of  thy 
breath." 

The  night  had  shut  down  completely.  Nothing  was 
now  to  be  heard  but  the  rustling  of  branches  upon  the 
slopes  of  Sikanda-Kndar.  The  Brahmin  rose  and  com- 
manded : 


22  THE  LAND   OF   TA[VNY  BEASTS. 

''  Withdraw  the  women  and  children.  Let  them  take 
shelter  under  the  altars  of  the  east." 

Women  and  children  obeyed  with  docility.  The  crowd 
divided  itself  into  two  unequal  masses,  one  of  which  took 
its  way  toward  the  shapeless  constructions  situated  at  the 
east  of  the  narrow  valley,  while  the  other,  that  consist- 
ing of  the  men  alone,  grouped  itself  in  a  solid  body 
about  the  religious  Hindu,  who  then  sent  up  a  new  form 
of  invocation  : 

*'Siva,  principle  of  sacred  Fire,  Parvati,  immortal 
spouse  of  living  death,  we  adore  you  in  this  place  that  you 
have  filled  with  signs  of  your  power.  It  is  here  that  the 
first  man  from  the  West,  come  for  conquest,  was  checked  ; 
it  is  here  that  Maha-Sikandar,  before  taking  his  way  to  the 
white  countries,  raised  these  altars  to  your  glory,  O  Pa"- 
vati,  6  Siva,  Mahadevi  of  holy  Fire,  Mahadevi  of  Death, 
which  transfigures.  May  the  earth  open  under  our  feet,  in 
order  that  we  may  celebrate  our  sacrifices  at  the  feet  of 
your  divine  images  !  " 

Upon  finishing  this  speech,  the  Sivaite  priest  approached 
the  ''  altar  of  Alexander,"  a  square  structure,  without  orna- 
ment, quite  like  the  megaliths  of  Brittany,  and  formed  of  a 
collection  of  twelve  regular  blocks,  covered  over  with  a 
thirteenth  like  a  ceiling,  after  the  fashion  of  a  ''dolman." 

The  Brahmin  extended  his  arms,  and,  seizing  one  of  the 
stones  with  a  peculiar  movement,  without  effort  made  it 
whirl  in  its  socket. 

An  opening  was  disclosed,  large  enough  to  permit  a 
man  to  pass  through,  and  the  mysterious  personage 
entered  it,   followed  by  the  crowd  of  the  faithful. 

These  went  through,  one  by  one,  and  the  long  chain  of 
men,  engulfed  in  the  silence  beyond  the  narrow  opening, 
threaded  their  way  like  a  procession  of  phantoms. 


THE  BRAHMIN  EXTENDED  HIS  ARMS. 


24  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

This  was  one  of  the  subterranean  temples  of  which 
India  possesses  so  many.  The  revolving  stone  set  free  a 
slab,  and  this,  swinging  into  a  perpendicular,  exposed 
the  gaping  orifice  of  a  stairway  of  forty  steps,  giving  ac- 
cess to  a  vast  pillared  room,  at  the  back  of  which  rose  two 
monsters  with  three  heads  and  six  arms,  effigies  in  gilded 
bronze  of  the  Deva  of  Death,  and  his  celestial  companion 
the  redoubtable  Parvati,  called  also,  according  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  different  cults,  Durga,  or  Kali. 

The  Hindus,  led  by  the  Sivaite  Brahmin,  all  entered 
this  cavern,  which  was  perpetually  lighted  by  the  flame  of 
ten  golden  lamps  filled  each  night  by  one  of  the  faithful 
with  the  holy  oil  indispensable  to  the  maintenance  of  this 
sacred  light. 

The  crowd  prostrated  itself  before  the  hideous  idols,  and 
after  a  series  of  invocations  chanted  in  alternate  verses,  the 
ceremonies  of  the  sect  commenced. 

From  the  shadowy  recesses  of  the  cave  sprang  creatures 
of  incredible  emaciation  :  old  men  with  long  white  beards, 
youths  whose  young  bodies  were  reduced  to  skin  and 
bone,  even  children,  veritable  skeletons,  hardly  able  to 
crawl.  Some  women  were  among  the  number,  belonging 
to  the  class  of  devjdassis  or  dancing  priestesses,  dedicated 
to  the  decorative  pomp  of  open  or  secret  festivals. 

All  this  class  of  fanatics  were  devoted  to  the  practice 
of  fakirism,  that  strange  and  inexplicable  custom  of  the 
Brahminic  code  ;  the  meaning  and  reason  of  which  the 
researches  of  contemporaneous  science  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  discover.  Men,  women,  and  children  gave  them- 
selves up  to  frightful  macerations,  to  impossible  fasts,  and 
submitted  to  atrocious  mutilations,  such  as  those  of  which 
the  public  had  a  glimpse  in  the  unbridled  saturnalia  of 
Durga  Pujah. 


DEVOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  25 

Sorne  pierced  their  tongues  with  a  stiletto  of  steel  or 
with  bars  of  iron  heated  red  hot ;  others  passed  these  bars 
over  the  entire  surface  of  their  bodies,  and  the  scorched 
flesh  could  be  heard  shriveling  while  the  features  of  the 
sufferers  betrayed  not  the  least  pain. 

They  were  seen  to  whirl  continuously,  faster  and 
faster,  until,  crazed,  they  threw  themselves  upon  the 
ground  foaming  at  the  mouth  and  at  the  point  of  death. 

A  number  wound  about  their  bare  limbs  frightful  ser- 
pents— the  hooded  cobras,  whose  single  bite  brings  death 
in  less  than  half  an  hour. 

Suddenly  the  religious  transports  ceased,  and  the  voice 
of  the  pontiff  rose  : 

''Principle  of  renewing  fire,"  cried  he,  ''manifest  thy 
presence  ! " 

Then  took  place  a  natural  phenomenon  well  calculated 
to  impress  all  these  minds,  weakened  by  the  degrading 
practices  of  a  worship  as  sanguinary  as  it  is  superstitious. 
All  at  once  the  rocks  behind  the  idols  of  Siva  and  Parvati 
appeared  to  cleave  asunder.  A  fissure,  previously  invisible, 
extended  the  full  height  of  the  subterranean  temple,  and 
rings  of  acrid  and  nauseous  smoke,  indicating  the  presence 
of  numerous  carburates  of  hydrogen,  rose  toward  the  vaulted 
ceiling.  At  the  same  time,  from  various  holes  made  in  the 
wall,  water  commenced  to  fall  in  cascades  into  basins 
of  marble  arranged  along  the  foot  of  the  wall.  Obeying 
some  cleverly  concealed  inner  mechanism,  the  two  mon- 
strous statues  turned  away  from  each  other,  melting,  so  to 
speak,  into  the  opaque  shadow  of  the  side  passages.  And, 
suddenly,  from  the  enlarged  fissure  rose  a  bluish  fiame 
which,  developing  into  a  sheet  of  light,  put  out  the  golden 
lamps  and  filled  the  entire  cave  with  a  strange  light  and 
at  the    same  time  with  insupportable  heat.    A  deathlike 


26  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

silence  reigned  in  the  sanctuary.  Then,  through  the  thick 
vapor  of  the  suffocating  atmosphere,  the  guttural  voice  of 
the  priest  was  again  heard,  saying : 

''Glory  be  to  Siva  and  to  Parvati,  in  the  unity  of  the 
Fire  God  ! " 

The  illusive  phenomenon  lasted  about  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  after  which  the  flame,  diminished  in  intensity  and 
volume,  appeared  to  re-enter  the  orifice  from  which  it 
came,  then  went  altogether  out,  leaving  behind  some  puffs 
of  vapor,  traces  of  its  passage  as  they  had  been  forerunners 
of  its  appearance.  Then  these  also  diminished  and  dis- 
appeared, at  the  same  time  that  the  streams  of  water  at  the 
infernal  heat  of  194"  ceased  to  run. 

The  gasping  mass  of  demoniacs  rose  little  by  little,  and 
when  the  faithful,  exhausted  with  their  ritualistic  practices, 
had  recovered  enough  strength  and  intelligence  to  listen  to 
the  exhortations  of  their  priest,  he  went  and  stood  erect  at 
the  feet  of  the  idols,  which  had  returned  to  their  respective 
places,  and  harangued  the  multitude  : 

''  Very  holy  brothers,  it  is  not  by  prayer  alone  that  the 
Mahadevas  are  honored.  It  is  by  sacrifices  that  are  pecu- 
liarly agreeable  to  them.     You  know  what  they  are." 

''Yes,"  clamored  the  crowd,  "  the  sacrifice  that  pleases 
God  greatly  is  the  blood  of  the  impious  and  those  who 
profane." 

"Brother  Ramu,"  said  the  priest,  addressing  one  who 
had  spoken,  "how  many  victims  hast  thou  offered  up  for 
the  repast  of  the  great  goddess  ?  " 

The  man,  a  young  Hindu,  vigorously  built,  rose  and 
responded  : 

"  Holy  Priest,  since  our  last  assemblage  these  hands 
have  offered  to  our  gods  twelve  victims.  Seven  were  of  the 
cursed  race  of  the  invaders :  one  man,  three  women,  and 


DEVOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  27 

three  children.  The  five  others  were  of  our  race,  but  they 
were  criminals,  since  they  had  made  themselves  servants 
of  the  accursed  English." 

A  clamor  of  enthusiasm  greeted  the  avowal  of  these 
execrable  crimes. 

After  Ramu,  other  Indians  followed  in  their  turn  to 
relate  their  abominable  exploits.  Then  when  the  account 
had  been  made  up  of  the  murders  accomplished  during  the 
previous  year,  consisting  of  twenty-seven  European  victims 
and  sixty  Indians  from  among  the  Mussulmans  and  the 
Buddhists,  as  well  as  from  among  the  innumerable  sects  of 
Brahminism  ;  when  the  faithful  who  had  caused  death 
without  drawing  blood,  as  is  agreeable  to  the  heart  of 
Parvati,  had  been  praised  for  so  doing,  and  those  had 
been  blamed  who  had  m.ade  use  of  other  arms  than  the 
cord  or  the  handkerchief,  which  prevents  Siva  from  pre- 
senting the  sacrifice  to  his  over-sensitive  spouse,  the 
pontiff  summoned  all  the  zeal  of  the  sect  to  new  acts 
of  faith. 

''At  this  very  moment,"  he  said,  ^' ten  white  men 
and  ten  Indians  are  preparing  to  violate  our  sacred 
boundaries.  They  come  by  the  Mandi  road,  that  which 
we  are  on,  and  will  go  up  as  far  as  Sultanpur.  Their 
sacrilegious  intention  is  to  invade  the  sacred  mountain, 
and  push  their  footsteps  even  so  far  as  the  inviolate  snow 
of  the  thrones  on  which  sit  Siva  and  Parvati.  These 
men,  who  do  not  believe  in  our  doctrines,  who  blaspheme 
our  divinities,  are  especially  formidable.  One  of  them  is 
that  Scotch  officer  who  made  himself  so  terribly  con- 
spicuous in  the  English  expedition  upon  the  frontiers 
of  Afghanistan,  and  who,  later,  with  thirty  cavalrymen, 
went  up  from  Mandalay  as  far  as  the  boundaries  of 
Assam,  pitilessly  sabering  the  Burman  Dacoits." 


28  THE  LAND  OF  TAPVNY  BEASTS. 

''Major  Plumptre  ! "  wailed  the  group,  stricken  with 
terror. 

"  Another,"  continued  the  priest,  ''  is  a  young  American 
whom  some  of  our  brothers  have  seen  at  Bombay  and 
Srinagar.  Gun  in  hand,  he  is  invincible.  His  ball  cuts 
a  needle  in  two  at  eighty  meters,  and  will  kill  a  Bengal 
bird  on  the  Hy." 

A  shudder  of  fear  shook  the  crowd.  Some  of  them 
found  voice  to  ask  the  name  of  this  terrible  adversary. 

"Cecil  Weldon,"  responded  the  Brahmin.  And,  pur- 
suing his  address  : 

''The  third  is  more  to  be  feared.  He  is  a  French- 
man ;  that  is  to  say,  he  belongs  to  that  extraordinary 
race  which  is  daunted  by  nothing.  He  is  stronger  than 
Major  Plumptre,  and  has  even  repeated  the  prodigies  of 
the  other  Frenchman,  Bonvalot.  Moreover,  the  Christ- 
ian's demon  cares  for  him,  for  he  seems  guarded  by 
invisible  protection.  Ten  times  already  our  brothers 
of  Persia,  Afghanistan,  and  Chitral,  have  tried  to  arrest 
his  progress.  The  accursed  Frenchman  has  broken  all 
their  nets,  overcome  all  their  witchcraft,  and  it  is  our 
brothers  who  have  perished '  or  who  have  been  made  to 
suffer.     He  is  called  jean  Merrien." 

A  silence  full  of  trembling  followed  this  address. 
Finally,  the  panting  and  agitated  crowd  broke  into  eager 
questioning. 

"  What  can  be  done  ?  What  can  be  done,  Holy 
Pontiff?" 

The  Brahmin  meditated  for  an  instant  and  appeared  to 
enter  into  communication  with  the  inspiring  god. 

"Brothers,"  he  resumed  finally,  "these  men  are 
doubtless  formidable,  but  what  cannot  the  will  of  one 
of  the  faithful  do  ?    They  are  twenty,  enough  assuredly, 


DEJ/OTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  29 

since  each  one  of  them,  of  the  white  men  at  all  events, 
is  as  good  as  ten.  Their  plan,  which  they  do  not  in 
any  way  conceal,  is  to  enter  the  holy  mountain  by 
these  ranges  where  we  now  are,  in  order  to  mount 
to  the  highest  summits  by  way  of  Jamnotri  and  Nanda- 
Devi.  If  they  only  wished  to  see  Dhaulagiri  we  would 
not  need  to  agitate  ourselves.  The  Mountain  of  the 
Son  of  Man  belongs  to  the  faithful  of  Vishnu-Rama. 
it  is  for  them  to  defend  it,  but  Nanda-Devi  is  the 
throne  of  Parvati,  and  only  the  faithful  have  the  right 
to  offer  up  goats  to  the  goddess.  But  further  than 
this,  the  blasphemers  wish  to  follow  the  entire  chain, 
and  their  final  aim  is  to  attain  to  the  supreme  throne, 
the  holy  Tchango  Pamari,  which  the  Nepalis  call 
Gaurisankar." 

An  explosion  of  ferocious  cries  broke  forth.  Arms 
waved,  eyes  filled  with  hatred. 

''  Brothers,  these  men  must  not  pass  the  waters  of 
our  Sutlej.  The  snows  of  Nanda-Devi  must  not  be 
polluted  by  the  foot  of  one  of  them.  It  is  already  too 
much  that  heretofore  one  white  man  has  been  able  to 
penetrate  thus  far  protected  by  the  safe  conduct  of  the 
princes  of  Khatmandu.  These  others  must  die  upon  the 
frontier  of  Nepal,  even  though  all  human  laws  protect 
them." 

''Yes,  yes,  yes!"  howled  the  excited  crowd.  ''They 
must  die !  Glory  be  to  Siva  !  The  laws  of  man  cannot 
check  the  fulfillment  of  the  will  of  the  gods." 

There  was  then  for  some  moments  an  indescribable 
tumult.  A  thousand  projects  crossed  each  other.  An 
immense  disorder  reigned  ;  and  the  devotees  of  the  Fire- 
God  moved  amid  incredible  confusion. 

Silence,  however,  was  re-established  and  the  Brahmin 


30  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

profited  by  it  to  distribute  orders  apportioning  the  troop 
of  assassins  along  the  mountain  road  from  Sultanpur  to 
the  frontiers  of  Tibet. 

Accordingly,  as  the  old  man  pronounced  the  name  of 
a  man  and  the  station  designed  for  this  murderous  cam- 
paign, he  to  whom  the  order  was  directed  mounted  the 
staircase  and  started  immediately  upon  the  road  across 
the  country,  by  night,  in  order  to  occupy  his  post  the 
sooner. 

Thus  the  mob  dispersed,  and  at  the  hour  of  mid- 
night there  remained  only  half  a  score  of  the  faithful 
about  the  Brahmin,  chosen  as  among  the  most  trusty 
and  able.    Of  this  number  Ramu  was  one. 

''For  thee,"  the  old  man  said  to  him,  'M  have 
reserved  the  most  difficult,  but  also  the  most  honorable 
post.  Thou  wilt  go  to  join  the  white  men.  Thou  wilt 
attach  thyself  to  their  persons,  as  their  guide,  or  as  their 
servant.  Not  only  wilt  thou  be  able  to  offer  the  sacrifice 
to  Mahadeva  in  person,  but  thou  canst  also  advise  our 
brothers,  in  order  that  they  may  accomplish  that  which 
thou  wilt  not  be  able  to  execute.  Go,  then,  and  may  the 
strength  of  Siva  be  in  thy  arms  :  the  smile  of  Parvati  on 
thy  lips." 

The  Hindu  prostrated  himself  before  the  old  man, 
whose  right  foot  he  took  and  placed  upon  his  head, 
but  at  the  moment  when  he  prepared  to  mount  the 
staircase  in  his  turn,  a  man  in  European  costume 
descended  it  precipitately.  Pushing  aside  those  present, 
in  spite  of  menaces  of  death  and  poniards  raised  against 
his  breast,  in  two  or  three  rapid  bounds  he  had  joined 
the  Brahmin.  Then  he  was  recognized,  and  a  profound 
stupor  succeeded  the  anger  with  which  the  entrance  of 
the  unholy  one  had  been  received.     He  was   in  fact  not 


DEyOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  31 

one  of  the  unholy  ;  he  was  a  brother,  and  of  the  most 
zealous  :  the  Dr.  Madar-Goun.  He  began  to  explain  even 
before  they  questioned  him. 

'M  do  not  come  too  late,"  he  cried,  ''since  you  are 
still  here.  It  is  necessary  to  advise  immediately  as  to 
new  measures.  The  accursed  Frenchman  and  his  com- 
panions will   not  pass  by  the  Kulla  nor  the  Garhwal." 

"Ah!"  cried  his  hearers,  much  disappointed  by  his 
news. 

The  physician  proceeded,  having  finally  overcome  the 
breathlessness  caused  by  his  haste  : 

''  1  have  come  at  full  speed  from  Simla,  for  1  only 
knew  this  yesterday  afternoon.  Major  Plumptre  re- 
entered Calcutta  day  before  yesterday  in  the  afternoon. 
He  waited  for  the  government  to  advise  him  of  the 
instructions  expected  from  Khatmandu,  but  they  were 
not  known  till  a  late  hour.  The  maharaja  has  fixed 
the  road  which  the  travelers  must  follow.  It  appears  that 
the  Governor  of  Calcutta  has  spoken  threateningly,  and 
the  king  has  been  afraid  that  the  redcoats  would  profit 
by  a  refusal  on  his  part  to  take  from  him  the  countries 
to  the  north  of  Darjiling  bordering  on  Sikkim.  He  has 
therefore  granted  them  right  of  way,  but  on  condition 
that  the  explorers  do  not  wander  from  the  road  desig- 
nated, at  least  until  they  reach  the  level  of  the  Great 
Chain.  Once  in  the  mountains,  since  he  is  no  longer 
responsible  for  their  lives,  he  troubles  himself  no  further 
about  their  path." 

The  Brahmin,  interested  by  this  communication,  asked  : 

''Then,  once  in  the  mountains,  the  king  and  the  gov- 
ernor are  indifferent  to  their  existence  ?  " 

"Yes,"  answered  the  physician,  "but  once  in  the 
mountains   they  have   on   their  side  the    worshipers    of 


32  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Vishnu,  they  have  the  snow  and  the  cold.  The  men  of 
the  South  will  not  be  able  to  pursue  them." 

"Then  they  must  die  before  they  have  left  the  chain  of 
Chiriya-ghati,"  said  Ramu,  in  a  hollow  voice. 

The  physician  gave  a  little  silent  laugh:  "In  Tardi 
Death  is  forever  on  the  watch.  She  has  many  names  and 
aspects.  The  tiger  and  the  panther,  the  elephant  and  the 
rhinoceros,  the  cobra  di  capello,  and  the  black  serpent, 
rather  than  the  Hindus,  will  prefer  to  kill  the  white 
man." 

The  Brahmin  extended  his  hand  and  imposed  silence 
upon  his  few  companions,  who  were  commencing  to 
murmur : 

"Brother,"  he  said,  "we  must  first  know  what  we 
are  going  to  do,  and  how  we  shall  proceed.  You  have 
forgotten  to  tell  us  the  road  imposed  upon  the  travelers 
by  the  m  ah  a  raj  a. 

Madar-Goun  made  a  gesture  of  manifest  annoyance. 

"That  is  what  1  do  not  know,"  he  replied.  "The 
white  men  have  kept  their  instructions  secret.  We  shall 
have  to  guess  the  itinerary  they  will  be  apt  to  follow,  for 
1  know  that  the  Frenchman  expects  to  commence  his 
excursion  with  the  Dhaulagiri." 

The  Indians  looked  at  one  another  in  much  confusion. 
It  was  evident  that  their  too  limited  ideas  of  geography 
would  hardly  permit  of  their  establishing  a  base  of  opera- 
tions. The  physician,  educated  in  Europe,  and  thus  famil- 
iarized with  the  processes  of  contemporaneous  science, 
extricated  them  from  their  embarrassment. 

"The  road  that  they  will  be  almost  certain  to  follow  is 
that  from  Jamla  to  Rawni.  It  is  there  that  we  must  seek 
them." 

There  was  a  heavy  silence  among   the   group.     The 


DEyOTEES  OF   THE  FIRE  GOD.  33 

faithful  of  the  Fire-God  were  doubtless  reflecting  upon  the 
course  they  should  take. 

Then,  when  their  meditations  had  come  to  an  end,  the 
Brahmin  chief,  speaking  last,  announced  : 

"  Ramu  will  take  the  mountain  road.  He  will  remain  at 
Jamla  until  the  travelers  arrive.  There  he  will  do  as  1  have 
said.  Nothing  is  changed  but  the  road  of  the  white  men. 
But  that  road  passes  over  the  land  of  our  gods.  The  pro- 
fane ones  must  be  chastised.    So  shall  it  be  !  " 

Then,  one  by  one,  the  worshipers  of  the  God  of 
Death  left  the  cave  and  joined  the  encampment  of 
women. 

The  physician  remounted  his  horse,  which  he  had  tied 
to  an  iron  hook  fixed  at  one  of  the  angles  of  the  altar  of 
Alexander,  and  addressing  Ramu,  who  was  about  to  set  out. 
on  the  same  road  as  himself:  "  Brother,"  he  said,  ''  mount 
behind  me.    You  will  thus  gain  a  part  of  the  way." 

The  Hindu  did  not  wait  to  be  urged,  and  the  next 
moment  the  animals  hoofs  were  resounding  on  the  horse- 
road,  well  covered  with  broken  stone,  owing  to  the  dili- 
gence of  the  English  administration,  as  they  rode  through 
a  cold  night  resplendent  with  stars. 


'X    ' 


THEY   SET   OUT   UTON   THEIR   WAY. 


III. 


THE    TARAI. 

Dr.  Madar-Goun  and  his  fanatical  companions  were 
mistaken. 

It  was  not  by  way  of  Jamla  and  Rawni  that  the 
explorers  were  going  to  commence  their  dangerous 
ascent. 

At  the  moment  of  leaving  Srinagar  they  had  taken 
counsel  together,  compelled  as  they  were  to  submit  to  the 
conditions  imposed  by  the  King  of  Nepal.  But  these  condi- 
tions left  them  the  choice  of  two  ways  of  entering  :  that 
of  Jamla  and  Rawni  the  most  direct  certainly,  but  also  the 
most  subject  to  control,  that  is  to  say,  to  the  innumerable 
annoyances  of  local  authorities,  and  that  of  from  Milam  to 
Taklagar,  nearly  unknown,  bristling  with  natural  obstacles, 
but  offering  this  advantage,  that  the  travelers  would  find 
themselves  at  once    in    the  mountains,  and  would  thus 

34 


THE   TARA'I.  35 

escape  the  vexations  of  the  Nepalese  and  Tibetan  custom- 
house. 

The  ill-will  of  the  maharaja  was  manifest.  While 
appearing  to  make  a  friendly  concession  to  the  Lord-Gov- 
ernor, the  sovereign  had  hoped  that  in  going  directly  across 
his  states  the  travelers  would  promptly  become  discouraged. 
There,  where  Montgomery  had  failed,  where  Adolph  von 
Schlagintweit  had  succeeded  in  passing  only  by  means  of 
stratagems  and  ruses,  it  was  not  possible  that  a  column  of 
twenty  men  could  find  an  egress. 

Thus  the  road  to  Dhaulagiri  was  to  all  appearances 
closed.  Therefore,  in  a  moment  of  ill-humor,  easy  enough 
to  justify.  Major  Plumptre  had  reproached  Merrien  with  not 
having  embraced  his  suggestion  when  he  had  proposed  to 
approach  the  base  of  Gaurisankar  by  the  east. 

''At  least,"  he  said,  "the  greater  part  of  the  journey 
would  lie  through  Sikhim,  that  is  to  say,  upon  English 
ground,  and  we  should  at  the  same  time  have  had  the  view 
of  the  four  highest  peaks  of  the  chain." 

Merrien  had  replied  laughingly  to  the  Scotchman's 
ill-temper  : 

"Let  us  see,  major;  difficulties  will  not  stop  you,  I 
fancy.  Very  well,  even  if  you  should  refuse  to  face 
them,  1  have  made  up  my  mind.  I  shall  take  the 
longest  road,  that  of  Milam.  1  will  do  even  better ;  1  will 
see  the  sources  of  the  Ganges  in  their  own  sanctuary  at 
Gangotri." 

An  exclamation  of  astonishment  greeted  this  totally 
unexpected  declaration. 

"  But  you" wish  then  to  give  a  year  to  it,"  cried  young 
Weldon.     "  That  takes  us  very  far  from  Gaurisankar !  " 

"What  matter!"  replied  the  Frenchman.  "Do 
delays  trouble  us  ?    I  shall  say  with  Mazarin,  if  necessary, 


36  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

'Time  and  1/  and  I  shall  add/'  he  concluded  with  careless 
challenge  :  '' '  Who  loves  me,  follows  me  ! ' " 

''  1  shall  follow  you  !  "  cried  Cecil   Weldon    sturdily. 

"I    also,    by    G ,"    added    the    major.     ''Besides,   { 

know  something  ot  the  road,  and  it  will  give  me  a 
chance  to  kill  some  tigers  and  panthers  on  the  way." 

"Bravo,  then!  We  are  all  in  it!  There  will  be  the 
fun  of  hunting  !  " 

The  young  Yankee  uttered  these  last  words  with  his 
delicate,  slender  hands  raised. 

The  agreement  being  thus  clenched  they  decided 
that  they  would  take  the  next  train,  and  that  they 
would  stop  at  the  station  of  Hardwar,  to  start  from 
there  directly  for  the  mountains. 

Major  Plumptre  took  with  him  his  four  companions, 
these  not  having  decided,  however,  that  they  would 
take  the  complete  trip.  Cecil  Weldon  was  escorted  by 
the  two  robust  Yankees  who  had  accompanied  him  to 
the  Great  Tower  Inn.  As  to  Merrien  he  kept  by  him 
only  one  servant,  almost  a  confidant,  Yves,  or  rather 
Euzen  Graec'h,  an  old  sailor,  a  Breton,  of  almost  super- 
natural stature  and  vigor. 

To  this  athlete  was  added  a  Hindu,  Goulab,  a  man 
of  thirty-five  or  thereabouts,  of  the  Brahmin  caste. 
Shikari,  that  is  to  say,  professional  hunter ;  long,  thin,  and 
supple  as  a  reed  in  his  ample  vestments  of  white  cotton 
cloth. 

The  five  Englishmen  had,  on  their  part,  retained  a 
personnel  of  eight  native  domestics,  chosen  somewhat 
at  hazard  from  all  castes,  and  distinguished  rather  by 
their  employments  than  by  their  social  rank.  One  of 
them,  Salem-Bun,  a  Mussulman  of  the  Sikh  race,  occu- 
pied the  important  post    of  bahurji,    or   cook.      Finally, 


THE   TARAI.  37 

young  Weldon  had  attached  to  himself  a  Madrasi  boy  of 
fifteen — a  Christian  child  with  fine  and  delicate  features 
lighted  by  beautiful  black  eyes,  sparkling  with  intelligence. 
The  sojourn  at  Hardwar  could  not  be  of  long  duration. 
The  travelers  stopped  there  just  long  enough  to  take  a 
meal,  and  recruit  the  wagons  and  the  beasts  of  burden 
necessary  to  the  journey. 

Mules  and  buffaloes  were  put  to  the  four  main  wagons, 
one  of  which  was  occupied  by  Cecil  Weldon,  the  second 
by  Merrien  and  his  two  attendants,  the  third  by  the 
major  and  his  companions.  The  fourth  was  used  in 
common  by  the  eight  Hindus  of  the  suite.  Two  other 
vehicles  carried  the  equipment  of  the  English  officers 
and  the  American.  Jean  Merrien  had  reduced  his  own 
baggage  to  a  bag  buckled  across  his  shoulders,  and  the 
Breton,  Euzen  Graec'h,  had  conscientiously  imitated 
him. 

They  set  out  upon  their  way,  crossing  the  Ganges  at 
Kirksampur,  then  they  followed  the  course  of  the  Mun- 
dakni  or  Alaknanda. 

They  reached  the  cool  valley  of  Dehra-Dun  formed  by 
the  Ganges  and  the  Jumna,  the  Tempe  of  northern  India, 
inclosed  between  the  Siwalik  Mountains  and  the  outer 
ranges  of  the  Himalaya.  Upon  these  slopes  the  English 
had  established  their  sanitariums,  and  cantons  at  Landaur 
and  MasLiri.  Further  to  the  north  the  climbers  admired 
the  famous  stone  of  Calsi  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tongsa 
and  the  Jumna,  upon  which  the  early  Buddhists  engraved, 
two  centuries  before  Christ,  the  figure  of  an  elephant  and 
the  tables  of  their  laws  ;  but  they  were  in  haste  to  get 
to  the  heights,  for  each  passing  day  rendered  access  to 
the  Great  Chain  more  difficult.  The  melting  of  the  snows 
would  swell  the  torrents  and  transform  the   lower  slopes 


38         ■  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

into  marshes  ;  by  what  they  had  been  able  to  see  at 
Dehra-Dun,  it  was  easy  to  guess  what  the  state  of  the 
Tarai  would  be  ;  and  by  whatever  side  one  approached 
the  Great  Chain,  one  would  have  to  undergo  the 
passage  across  the  Tarai. 

The  plan  of  campaign  had  been  heedlessly  drawn 
up.  Upon  the  representation  of  one  of  the  Hindus, 
the  Europeans  had  nourished  the  hope  that  they  would 
be  able  to  go  up  the   Ganges  east  of  Landaur. 

At  the  very  outset  it  was  necessary  to  renounce  this 
project,  and  recross  the  divine  river  this  side  of  Siwalik. 
The  marshes  which  they  had  wished  to  avoid  at  Faizabad, 
they  found  again  at  Bodalleth,  and  at  Pinnath. 

This  time  the  major,  exasperated  by  the  delay  of  eight 
days,  declared  that  he  would  cross  in  spite  of  all  obstacles. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  no  one  wished  to  abandon  him. 

"It  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  good,"  says 
the  proverb.  This  rejection  of  the  eastern  road  rendered 
the  travelers  the  service  of  bringing  them  near  to  the 
Nepal  frontier,  while  at  the  same  time  it  led  them  into 
a  part  of  the  Tarai  where  human  industry  had  made 
veritable  conquest  over  the  jungle  and  the  desert. 

In  India  the  name  Tarai,  or  Taryani,  is  given  to  that 
warm  and  humid  zone  which  lies  at  the  base  of  the 
Himalaya  along  the  entire  length  of  the  chain,  some 
three  thousand  kilometers  from  the  Passes  of  Kashmir 
to  the  vales  of  Assam.  This  girdle,  very  unhealthy 
because  of  the  pestilences  hidden  within  its  marvelous  for- 
ests, very  dangerous  through  the  presence  of  innumerable 
wild  beasts,  seems  to  have  been  placed  there  by  nature  to 
forbid  human  access  to  the  giant  lands,  the  two  arms  of 
which,  Himalaya  and  Kuenluen,  embrace  the  mysterious 
unexplored  region  called  Tibet. 


THE   TARAI.  ^g 

Thus  it  is  necessary  to  cross  the  Tarai  to  reach  the  first 
terraces  of  the  Himalaya. 

"  Now,  where  are  we  ?  "  asked  Cecil  Weldoii  of  Plump- 
tre  and  Merrien,  when,  after  having  passed  a  thick  wood, 
the  travelers  found  themselves  to  their  great  surprise  upon 
a  beautiful  road,  well  kept,  stretching  like  a  long  ribbon 
in  the  direction  of  the  Chain,  whose  snowy  domes  and 
gilded  peaks  could  be  seen  sparkling. 

It  was  Dr.  MacGregor,  a  friend  of  Plumptre's,  who 
took  upon  himself  to  furnish  his  young  companion  with 
the  desired  explanation.  He  amiably  constituted  himself 
cicerone  of  the  company. 

''Gentlemen,"  said  he,  ''this  portion  of  northern 
India  is  par  excellence  holy  ground.  It  is  the  domain 
proper  to  the  Hindu-trimorti.  When  India  had  in  some 
sort  abdicated  from  sovereign  power,  Brahma,  born  of 
the  sacred  lotus,  or  of  the  eggs  of  Baohani,  created  this 
land,  to  conserve  and  to  devastate  which  was  the  mis- 
sion of  Vishnu  and  Siva.  That  is  why  the  Hindus  force 
themselves  every  year  to  accomplish  the  great  pilgrimage, 
the  most  meritorious  of  all,  that  of  the  Sanctuary  of 
Gangotri,  that  we  are  to  undertake  ourselves,  but  in  the 
role  of  the  merely  curious.  Very  few  bring  it  to  a  success- 
ful end,  for  the  difficulties  are  formidable,  and  we  cannot 
guarantee  that  we  shall  be  more  fortunate  than  the  natives 
in  this  dangerous  attempt." 

"We  shall  be,  MacGregor,"  rang  out  the  very  positive 
voice  of  Major  Plumptre. 

They  resumed  their  march.  Forests  alternated  with 
cultivated  ground  laboriously  reclaimed  from  the  jungle. 
Toward  evening,  however,  they  found  themselves  in  the 
middle  of  a  thicket.    The  road  was  extremely  difficult. 

"  Does  not  some  one  of  our  men  know  the  region  ?" 


40  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

asked  Merrien  of  the  cook  Salem-Bun,  when  he  was  setting 
up  the  tents  for  the  night.  Questioned  one  by  one,  the 
natives  avowed  complete  ignorance  of  the  road.  The 
embarrassment  was  at  its  height  when  Cecil  Weldon's 
little  Madrasi  servant,  who  answered  to  the  name  of  Christi, 
given  at  baptism  by  the  Fathers  who  had  Christianized 
him,  timidly  approached  his  master,  and  spoke  to  him  in 
a  low  voice. 

The  American  then  said :  ''  Gentlemen,  Christi  has 
assured  me  that  there  must  be  near  here  a  Catholic  mission, 
founded  by  the  Capuchins.  The  Doums,  in  fact,  almost  all 
belong  to  this  religion,  which  they  have  embraced  through 
hatred  of  their  old  tyrants,  the  Gurkhas.  The  boy  will 
undertake  to  reconnoiter  the  neighborhood." 

The  major  broke  in  with  a  word  of  caution  :  ''  The  boy 
will  make  his  excursion  to-morrow.  There  is  too  much 
danger  in  attempting  it  this  evening." 

''Danger?"  cried  Weldon  and  the  two  Frenchmen 
simultaneously. 

The  officer  smiled  somewhat  conceitedly,  then  he 
resumed  seriously  : 

"  1  know,  my  dear  comrades,  that  you  fear  nothing. 
But  take  the  word  of  a  man  who  had  some  experience  of 
the  country.  We  are  here  in  the  Tarai,  and  the  Tarai  is 
not  an  ordinary  place.  We  shall  very  likely  realize  that 
this  very  night.  Just  now,  in  crossing  a  clear  space,  I  dis- 
covered unmistakable  traces  of  the  great  flesh-eating 
animals  :  tigers,  panthers,  and  chitas." 

''  But,  then,"  observed  young  Weldon,  *' we  are  very 
badly  situated  in  the  event  of  a  night  attack.  We  should 
be  wiser  to  seek  some  village  which  might  furnish  us  a 
shelter." 

Everyone  approved  this  advice,  which  was  dictated  by 


THE   TARAI.  41 

prudence.  There  was,  in  fact,  no  refuge  other  than  the 
wagons  drawn  by  buffaloes  and  mules.  The  very  presence 
of  these  animals  indeed,  might  attract  wild  beasts,  so,  as 
the  night  had  not  yet  settled  down,  they  decided  to  take  up 
their  march  as  soon  as  the  meal  was  finished,  and  to  stop 
at  the  first  hamlet  which  they  encountered.  The  smoke 
which  drifted  across  the  openings  of  the  forest  led  them  to 
suspect  that  some  poor  huts  were  close  at  hand. 

Half  an  hour  later  they  had  reached  one  of  those 
Hindu  villages  built  of  earth  and  thatch,  miserable  dwell- 
ings lacking  not  only  luxury,  but  even  the  most  element- 
ary comfort.  Their  very  aspect  caused  the  young  Yankee 
to  recoil  in  disgust,  his  delicacy,  excessive  for  an  explorer, 
somewhat  astonishing  his  companions. 

However,  at  the  end  of  a  moment,  this  repugnance  was 
shared  by  Major  Plumptre,  Dr.  MacGregor,  and  all  their 
compatriots,  and  in  order  to  cut  short  the  discussions  sure 
to  be  provoked  by  the  choice  of  a  lodging  among  the 
repulsive  huts,  Merrien  expressed  the  general  sentiment  in 
proposing  to  sleep  in  the  wagons  after  having  established 
them  in  the  village. 

This  last  proposition  somewhat  startled  Cecil  Weldon, 
and  his  hesitation  again  awakened  the  surprise  of  the  other 
travelers.  But  it  was  quite  necessary  for  him  to  resign 
himself;  there  was  no  choice  of  hostelry,  and  the  nearest 
bungalow*  was  still  no  less  than  two  miles  away. 

They  decided,  therefore,  to  accept  Merrien's  advice,  and 
the  vehicles  were  brought  into  the  village  into  the  midst  of 
a  population  of  Mehras,  whose  extreme  timidity  rendered 
them  very  shy.  It  was  with  extreme  difficulty  and  at  the 
cost  of  numerous  paissas  distributed  right  and  left,  that 

*  Halting-place  or  station. 


42  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

some  of  these  savages  could  be  brought  to  consent  to  fill 
the  offices  of  bhistis,  that  is  to  say,  of  water-carriers. 

Only  two  of  them  decided  to  do  so,  and  on  the  condi- 
tion that  the  white  men  accompany  them  with  arms 
and  lanterns.  The  spring  was  under  cover  of  the  wood, 
and  everything  was  fearsome  at  this  hour  of  dead  night ; 
the  watering-place  was  surronnded  by  flesh-eating  animals 
lying  in  wait  for  antelopes  and  deer. 

The  major  at  once  demanded  to  be  one  of  the  escort. 
Jean  Merrien  accompanied  him  as  well  as  Euzen  Graec'h 
and  the  Indian  Goulab,  the  special  mission  of  the  latter 
being  the  surveillance  of  the  two  Mehras. 

But  there  was  no  occasion  to  fear  treason  on  the  part  of 
these  men.  The  Mehras,  are,  in  fact,  together  with  the 
Doums,  the  most  ancient  people  of  the  India  peninsula  ; 
at  least,  in  the  cis-Gangetic  portion.  Successively  con- 
quered and  brought  under  subjection  by  innumerable 
incursions  of  invaders,  enslaved  for  centuries,  they  owe 
their  liberty  only  to  the  coming  of  the  English,  who  have 
delivered  them  from  the  Gurkhas,  those  terrible  moun- 
taineers from  among  whom  the  government  of  Her 
Britannic  Majesty  recruits  the  best  foot-soldiers  of  the 
Indian  army,  the  most  substantial  soldiers  of  the  Sepoy 
regiments. 

But  the  Mehras,  of  Aryan  race,  have  kept  a  wild 
independence  which  has  degenerated  into  savagery,  while 
the  Doums,  black  of  skin,  with  woolly  hair,  represent 
in  riiide  Ulotrique,  or  that  part  of  India  where  the 
natives  have  crisped  hair,  a  negro  race,  expelled  in  an 
immemorial  past,  the  nearest  approach  to  which  is  found 
in  the  hideous  and  cannibal  population  of  the  Andaman 
Islands.  The  Doums,  laborious,  sober,  accord  marvelously 
with  the  whites,  and  it  is  thanks  to  their  arms  that  civili- 


THE    TARAI.  43 

zation  encroaches  each  day  upon  the  domain  of  the 
Tarai  jungles. 

The  spring  from  which  the  water  was  to  be  brought 
was  situated  at  quite  a  distance,  nearly  a  mile  in  the 
forest.  Through  the  darkness,  and  in  spite  of  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  torches,  the  march  was  difficult. 

The  village  in  the  center  of  which  the  travelers  had 
placed  their  wagons  was  laid  out,  after  the  fashion  of 
its  kind,  over  the  entire  extent  of  this  narrow  territory. 
The  Doums  had  come  first.  They  had  attacked  the 
outskirts  of  the  forest  with  fire,  and  with  the  ax. 
Then,  the  place  once  cleared,  they  had  planted  the 
nutritious  and  sheltering  mango  tree  in  place  of  the 
useless  palms,  turpentine  trees  of  strong  species,  flora, 
similar  to  that  of  Europe,  but  among  which  appeared, 
with  its  peculiar  individuality,  the  astonishing  banyan 
tree,  that  giant  which  multiplies  itself;  which,  like 
Antaeus,  acquires  new  strength  each  time  that  it  touches 
the  earth,  since  each  of  its  branches,  provided  with 
adventitious  roots,  is  transformed  into  a  aiew  tree,  and 
becomes  the  pillar  of  an  arch  which  extends  in  all 
directions  around  the  primitive  trunk,  procreator  of  a 
veritable  forest  in  itself. 

Then  the  Doums,  their  work  of  clearing  finished  to  a 
nicety,  passed  on  to  other  labor,  urged  further  by  the 
English,  who  pay  them  for  their  valiant  toil.  Then  came 
the  Mehras,  and  even  other  races,  some  of  whom  emi- 
grated from  the  valley  of  the  Sutlej,  or  the  banks  of  the 
Jumna  and  the  Gogra.  These  last  are  the  ones  who 
build  pitiful  dwellings,  a  species  of  sordid  hut,  and 
create  wretched  villages  under  the  shade  of  the  mango 
trees.  If  the  race  be  industrious,  it  surrounds  the 
territory  thus  conquered  with  all  the  resources  necessary 


44  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

to  combat  the  pestilence  of  the  climate,  and  the  per- 
petual menace  of  terrible  famine.  Then  arise  bread- 
trees,  butter-trees,  cocoanut  trees,  the  mhowa,  that 
strange  tree  whose  flower,  of  an  insipid  and  resinous 
odor  resembling  that  of  the  mango,  is  a  veritable  manna 
for  persons  living  in  the  most  cruel  scarcity. 

The  two  Mehras  gave  loud  cries,  and  Goulab  imitated 
them,  counseling  the  two  Europeans  to  do  the  same.  It 
was  a  measure  of  prevention  to  disperse  noxious  beasts, 
and  more  especially  the  serpents  asleep  in  the  heaps  of 
decayed  foliage,  or  in  the  hollov/s  of  fallen  trees. 

Every  moment  a  rustling  of  the  branches,  a  murmur 
in  the  thicket,  warned  the  travelers  that  they  had 
disturbed  some  living  creature  in  its  repose,  or  in  the 
performance  of  some  nocturnal  task.  From  time  to  time 
a  hoarse  growl  revealed  the  departure  of  some  tiger  or 
panther,  or  small-sized  ape. 

In  proportion  as  they  neared  the  watering  place,  the 
cries  of  the  Hindus  redoubled  in  intensity  and  frequency. 
The  watering  place  is  the  classic  ambush  of  the  great 
slayers,  because  it  is  the  common  rendezvous  of  all  the 
animal  tribes.  Suddenly  a  startled  bellowing  rose  some 
hundred  feet  from  the  little  path.  The  Mehras  stopped, 
giving  signs  of  violent  terror. 

''Attention!"  said  Jean  Merrien,  quickly  bringing  his 
ride  to  the  shoulder. 

"Well!"  replied  the  Englishman;  'M  know  what 
that  is.  That  is  only  a  spotted  deer  coming  to 
drink." 

Goulab  shook  his  head,  and  said  in  a  low  voice  to 
the  fearless  major : 

"Sahib,  it  is  only  a  deer,  but  this  deer  leads  his 
herd.    It  is  not  us  that  he  has  discovered,  for  the  wind 


THE   TARAl.  45 

comes  from  his  direction.  There  must  be  some  other 
enemy  behind  him,  more  formidable  perhaps,  and  more 
disquieting." 

''And  what  may  it  be?"  asked  the  Scotchman. 

'Mt  may  be  the  seigneur  tiger,  unless  it  is  a 
panther." 

The  group  had  paused  ;  the  three  white  men  and 
Goulab,  armed  with  rifles,  had  rapidly  made  a  square 
in  the  center  of  which  they  placed  the  two  Mehras. 
These  had  laid  their  empty  bottles  on  the  ground,  and 
had  taken  the  two  extra  torches  from  the  hands  of 
their  protectors.  With  their  two  arms  raised,  they  held 
these  torches  above  their  heads,  sending  a  fantastic 
light  into  the  dense  shadows  of  the  surrounding  forest. 
But  at  that  very  moment  the  wind,  shifting  unex- 
pectedly, swept  away  the  clouds,  and  revealed  the  full 
disk  of  the  moon.  An  intense  radiance  illumined  the 
heavens,  and  such  a  light  streamed  down  upon  the 
landscape  as  is  only  seen  under  tropical  skies.  The 
spring  appeared,  spread  with  silver,  pouring  out  of  a 
large  fissure  in  the  rock  upon  a  basin  of  transparent 
pebbles  of  that  marvelously  colored  quartz  that  the 
Ganges  draws  from  its  bed,  and  that  the  people  utilize  in 
the  ornamentation  of  those  exquisite  boxes  of  precious 
wood,  those  elegant  sandal-wood  cabinets,  charming  in 
appearance,  and  of  delightful  fragrance. 

Then  an  agitating  scene  was  enacted  under  the  eyes 
of  the  explorers. 

An  entire  herd  of  spotted  deer,  seven  does  and  four 
fawns,  appeared  upon  the  banks  of  the  stream.  The 
animals  did  not  drink.  They  pricked  up  their  ears,  and 
turned  their  heads,  with  visible  anxiety  in  their  beautiful 
black  eyes.     Ten  paces  in  advance  the  male,  a    superb 


a6  the  land   of   TAiVNY  BEASTS. 

stag  of  ten,  with  proud,  intelligent  eyes,  sniffed  the  air 
in  the  direction  of  the  wind.  It  was  he  who  had,  for 
the  purpose  of  warning  the  others  of  danger,  given  the 
cry  just  heard.  He  was  suddenly  seen  to  stretch  out 
his  powerful  neck.  A  second  wailing  cry,  pitiful  this 
time,  a  true  call  of  alarm,  broke  from  the  hollows  of 
his  deep  chest,  and  the  entire  troop  fled  at  a  gallop, 
running  wildly  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  He  him- 
self, after  providing  for  the  safety  of  his  family,  thought 
of  his  own  means  of  escape.  Lying  close  to  the  ground, 
effacing  himself,  so  to  speak,  among  the  trees,  he  exam- 
ined the  surrounding  openings.  One  alone  was  large 
enough  for  his  majestic  horns,  that  by  which  the 
explorers  and  the  two  Mehras  had  come. 

Plumptre,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  said  to 
his  companions  :  "Let  us  stand  aside  to  let  him  pass, 
otherwise  he  will  force  the  sentry.  Moreover,  he  will 
not  attack  us.  The  enemy  is  certainly  behind  him.  That 
is  the  one  we  must  receive  at  the  muzzle  of  the  gun." 

He  had  not  finished  speaking  when  the  stag,  crouch- 
ing on  his  hind  legs,  bent  for  a  spring,  rose  with  a 
prodigious  bound,  and  passed  the  little  troop  in  two 
gigantic  leaps. 

"Brave  animal!"  exclaimed  the  Scotchman.  "Did 
you  observe  his  maneuver  ?  He  attracted  the  advancing 
tiger  to  himself,  in  order  to  let  the  females  and  the  little 
ones  reach  the  center  of  their  herd.  I  should  like  to  do 
something  for  him." 

"We  too,  major,"  said  Jean  Merrien,  smiling. 

The  four  rifles  were  raised  at  the  same  time,  ready  to 
aim,  and  the  appearance  of  the  wild  animal  was  awaited. 
He  was  not  long  in  showing  himself.  The  underbrush  on 
the  bank  of  the  stream  suddenly  moved,  the  tall  grasses 


THE   STAG   SNIFFED   THE   WIND. 


48  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

parted  abruptly,  and  made  way  for  a  magnificent  beast 
with  a  supple  and  sinuous  body,  and  a  yellowish-gray 
coat  spotted  with  circles  of  black  velvet.  It  was  not  a 
tiger,  but  one  of  the  leopards  very  common  in  Central 
and  Southern  Asia.  European  naturalists  call  it  guepard, 
but  the  Indians  designate  it  by  the  name  of  chita. 

The  chita  is  susceptible  of  education  to  such  a  degree 
that  the  hunters  of  Persia,  of  Turkestan,  of  India,  and  of 
China,  train  it  to  hunt  with  more  f^icility  than  the  dog. 
It  thus  becomes  the  valuable  aid,  and  the  faithful  com- 
panion of  the  horseman,  who  takes  it  behind  him  and 
lets  it  loose  upon  the  prey  designated.  The  one  which 
had  just  come  into  view  was  of  great  size.  It  came, 
attracted  by  the  trail  of  the  herd,  and  was  counting  on 
choosing  from  among  it  a  morsel  of  ample  dimensions. 
It  prepared  to  bound  off  in  pursuit  of  the  buck  along  the 
very  road  that  he  had  taken,  when  the  sight  of  the  six 
men,  illumined  by  their  torches,  stopped  him  short,  halt- 
ing between  fear  and  the  cravings  of  his  stomach.  One 
or  two  guttural  notes  issued  from  his  bronze  chest.  The 
formidable  beast  was  hesitating,  not  daring  to  disregard 
the  counsels  of  prudence. 

''We  haven't  the  leisure  to  parley  with  this  pretty 
fellow,"  said  the  major,  in  an  undertone. 

"  What  a  pity  that  he  cannot  be  taken  alive  !  "  sighed 
Goulab,  the  Indian. 

''Why  so?"  asked  the  Breton  sailor,  much  mystified 
by  this  regret.  The  shikari  explained  the  puzzle  in  his 
words  : 

"  You  do  not  know,  then,  sahib,  that  the  chita  is  easily 
tamed,  and  becomes  an  excellent  companion  for  him  who 
loves  the  chase  ?  " 

"Doubtless,"  replied  Major  Plumptre,   "but  this  one 


THE   TARAl.  49 

does  not  appear  to  be  precisely  in  the  humor  to  confide  to 
us  the  responsibility  of  his  education.  Furthermore,  we  are 
a  little  pressed  for  time.  And  then  the  fate  of  this  brave 
deer  interests  me." 

During  this  short  dialogue,  the  giiepard  had,  on  his 
part,  reflected,  and  the  inclinations  that  he  presently  showed 
were  entirely  hostile.  He  had  come  around  the  pond, 
and,  flattened  against  the  ground,  was  moving  his  rump 
and  his  tail,  and  scratching  the  earth  with  his  claws. 

It  was  in  this  position  that  he  was  surprised  by  the 
major's  shot.  The  ball  penetrated  the  point  of  the  shoulder 
and  prostrated  the  magnificent  beast,  while  the  noise  of 
the  report  reverberated  through  the  black  depths  of  the 
forest.  The  chita  turned  over  two  or  three  times  with 
convulsive  movements,  and  died. 

Then  the  two  Mehras  ran  to  the  stream,  promptly  filled 
their  bottles,  and  rejoined  the  group,  while  Euzen  Graec'h, 
putting  his  enormous  strength  to  good  use,  lifted  the  body 
o(  the  giiep J rd,  still  warm  and  palpitating,  upon  his  shoul- 
ders, and  carried  it  triumphantly  back  into  camp. 

The  noise  of  the  shooting  had  caused  the  whole  com- 
pany great  excitement,  and  everyone  ran  to  look  at  the 
superb  game  and  compliment  Major  Plumptre  on  the  happy 
beginning  of  his  hunting  in  the  Tarai.  Some  of  the  Mehras 
themselves  came  out  of  their  cabins  and  approached  the 
wagons. 

The  two  brave  bhisf/s  who  had  given  proof  of  real 
courage  were  royally  rewarded,  and  they  departed  from 
their  habitual  speechlessness  warmly  to  thank  the  gener- 
ous donors. 

After  which  the  wagons  were  disposed  in  a  circle,  in 
the  center  of  which  were  placed  the  mules  and  the 
buffaloes.    Two  Danish  dogs  of  great  size  watched  at  the 


50  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS, 

spaces  left  open  by  the  angles  of  the  wagons.  Then  the 
men  wished  one  another  a  cordial  good-night,  very 
desirable  after  so  momentous  an  evening  as  they  had  just 
passed,  and  each  group  shut  itself  into  the  wheeled  house 
assigned  to  it. 

The  day  once  at  hand,  it  was  necessary  to  think  of 
returning  to  the  mountain  road,  in  spite  of  the  very  marked 
opposition  of  Major  Plumptre  and  Dr.  MacGregor. 

''My  dear  comrades,"  cried  the  officer,  "mountains 
after  all  are  only  mountains.  Whoever  has  seen  one,  has 
seen  all.  It  is  not  so  of  theTarai,  which  is  a  place  unique  in 
the  whole  world,  the  land  of  promise  for  the  hunter.  The 
experience  of  yesterday  evening  has  given  you  a  chance  to 
judge  of  the  numerous  delights  that  a  sojourn  in  this  fortu- 
nate region  would  procure  for  us.  We  should  all  return 
with  at  least  ten  skins  apiece.  1  ask,  then,  that  we  give 
ourselves  ten  days'  grace  worthily  to  accomplish  our  hunts- 
man's task." 

Jean  Merrien  commenced  to  laugh  at  this  proposition. 
He  answered  the  officer  gayly  : 

"  Parbleu  !  major,  that  is  what  comes  of  praising  your 
cynegetic  tastes,  and  if  Mr.  Weldon  and  your  friends 
see  no  inconvenience  in  it,  we  can  very  well  dedicate 
a  week  to  the  massacre  of  tigers,  panthers,  bears,  and 
other  injurious  creatures  of  the  region.  But  let  me 
remind  you  that  I  have  come  with  but  one  end  in 
view,  the  climbing  of  Gaurisankar,  which  you  call 
Mount  Everest.  You  must  also  recall  that  you  all 
swore  to  carry  off  this  palm  from  the  Frenchman. 
What  have  you  done,  then,  with  your  beautiful  ardor 
of  Srinigar  ?  " 

And  he  added  by  way  of  conclusion  : 

"  Hurrah,  then,  for  a  week    or  ten  days    of  amuse- 


THE   TARAI.  51 

ment  in  the  forests  of  the  Tardi  !  But,  this  delay  once 
over  with,  come  what  may,  I  will  pause  for  no  leave- 
taking,  but  will  return  to  the  Gangotri  road.  It  will  be 
the  worse  for  those  who  will  have  been  overcome  by 
the  exhalations  of  the  neighborhood,  and  who  will  have 
contracted  the  marsh  fever." 

''Well!"  returned  the  Scotchman,  ''those  who  are 
sick  can  return  to  the  Dun  road.  Ladour  and  Masuri 
are  not  far  distant,  and,  if  necessary,  they  could  be  sent 
on  to  Simla,  where  they  would  be  able  to  recover." 

"Hurrah,  then,  for  the  hunt!  But  let  us  take  meas- 
ures to  have  our  days  well  filled.  It  would  be  too 
humiliating  to  be  left  in  the  lurch  after  having  made 
such  a  loop  in  our  itinerary." 

''Mr.  Merrien,"  said  Cecil  Weldon  gently,  "we  shall 
not  be  left  in  the  lurch.  And  furthermore,  supposing 
that  the  beasts  of  prey  all  steal  away  from  us,  the 
mountains  will  not  escape  us,  1  think,  and  Gaurisankar 
will  remain  in  its  place." 

Upon  this  sensible  conclusion  they  held  a  veritable 
council  of  war,  and  decided  to  follow  the  forest,  without, 
however,  departing  from  the  northern  route  and  the 
Nepal  frontier. 

^1 


THE   MONK   DESIGNATED    RAMU. 


IV. 


VARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS. 


That  very  day,  Christi,  the  little  Madras!,  carried  out 
the  project  he  had  formed  the  previous  evening,  ot 
putting  himself  into  communication  with  the  Christian 
Doums  in  order  to  procure  some  guide  from  out  their 
ranks. 

The  boy  set  out,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  Hindus 
in  the  service  of  the  five  Englishmen,  and  plunged 
through  the  forest  the  sooner  to  gain  the  clearing. 
There  he  knew  he  should  find  those  laborious  negroes 
who  have  been   indefatigable  aids  to  English  civilization. 

Christi  and  his  companion,  a  Pahari  of  Rohilkhand, 
were  nearly  three  hours  in  reaching  the  first  of  the  Doum 
settlements.  These  were  veritable  cantons.  Directed  by 
a    Capuchin   father,  several   black    tribes,  men,   women, 

and  children,  had  raised  their  portable  barracks  furnished 

52 


U'ARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  53 

by  a  European  company  of  Calcutta,  as  were  the  wooden 
convoys  and  wagons.  Houses  of  boards  erected  upon 
trestles  of  iron,  with  floors  and  roofs  of  sheet  iron  to 
avoid  contact  with  the  earth  and  the  invasion  of  insects 
or  serpents,  offered  an  itinerant  home  to  these  troops  of 
benevolent  workers,  content  with  little,  supporting  them- 
selves upon  the  moderate  remuneration  accorded  them. 

Christi  at  once  sought  the  padre,  an  old  Portuguese 
monk,  who  had  lived  for  thirty  years  among  these 
people,  so  remote  from  all  civilization. 

He  made  known  to  him  his  desire ;  and  the  padre 
hastened  to  call  to  him  two  men  who  were  working 
some  distance  away. 

One  of  the  two  was  a  pure-blooded  Doum,  small 
and  stocky,  black  of  skin,  and  woolly-haired  ;  the  other 
did  not  belong  to  the  race.  He  was  a  large,  fine  youth, 
superbly  set  up,  with  smooth  hair  and  olive  complexion. 
Naked  to  the  waist,  where  was  knotted  a  large  pagne, 
the  folds  of  which  fell  over  the  legs,  he  presented  the 
aspect  of  great  strength  joined  to  real  intelligence. 

The  monk  especially  pointed  out  this  latter  to  the 
two  emissaries  of  the  white  men. 

"  Ramu,"  said  he,  'M  believe  this  is  your  affair.  You 
are  looking  for  work.  There  happen  to  be  very  near 
here  some  Europeans  who  are  asking  for  a  guide.  Would 
you  like  to  go  ?    That  is,  if  you  know  the  country  ?  " 

The  Hindu  made  a  sign  of  acquiescence  with  his 
head. 

Then  the  padre,  quitting  his  flock  for  the  moment, 
took  the  road  to  the  encampment  in  company  with  the 
three  Indians. 

He  was  received  with  respect.  Although  he  spoke 
English  with  great  incorrectness,  the  use  that  he  made  of 


54  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

this  language  permitted  him  to  explain  himself  sufficiently 
to  the  travelers.  He  told  them  that  Ramu  was  a  Dogra 
of  Jumna,  that  is  to  say  a  Rajput,  not  a  Mussulman, 
who  had  been  sent  to  him  by  a  young  physician,  Madar- 
Goun,  who  had  been  educated  in  Europe.  He  added 
that  the  Dogra  had  only  arrived  the  evening  before,  but 
that  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Madar-Goun  was  in  his 
eyes  the  best  of  all  guarantees. 

The  white  men  could  not  desire  better  reference  than 
that  of  Father  Antonio,  the  name  of  the  Portuguese 
monk.  Consequently  they  engaged  Ramu  in  the  capacity 
of  guide,  and  begged  him  to  enter  upon  his  duties  from 
that  very  day. 

He  spoke  several  languages,  English  among  them, 
with  infinitely  more  facility  than  the  good  monk  who 
had  brought  him  there.  He  explained  laughingly  to 
the  travelers  that  his  duties  would  be  very  easy,  as 
it  was  the  month  of  March,  and  at  that  time  pilgrim- 
ages abound,  the  more  daring  for  Gangotri,  but  the 
greater  number  for  Hardwar,  Badarinath,  and  Kedarnath. 

''  Furthermore,"  he  added,  smiling,  "  this  region  is  very 
improperly  called  Tariyani.  It  is  hardly  more  than  the 
advance  guard  of  the  forest.  The  true  Tarai  is  still 
some  fifty  kilometers  from  the  place  where  we  are, 
and  it  would  only  have  been  necessary  for  you  to 
ascend  the  Mundakni  as  far  as  Kedarnath  to  choose 
between  the  Gangotri  road  and  that  of  Niti   Liti." 

Major  Plumptre,  who  had  not  taken  his  eyes  off  the 
Hindu  while  he  was  speaking,  replied  in  a  somewhat 
testy  tone  of  voice  : 

"Very  well,  my  boy.  We  are  charmed  that  you  pos- 
sess such  geographical  knowledge  of  the  country.  For 
the  moment  what  we    ask  of  you   is  that  you   lead   us 


VARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  '        55 

as  conveniently  as  possible  into  the  forest  between  the 
frontiers  of  Nepal  and  those  of  Tibet.  We  are  to  the 
north  of  Ranikhet,  and  Almora,  but  we  are  to  the  south 
of  the  Himalayas.  It  is  for  you  to  acquaint  us  with 
the  best  hunting  territory.  You  can  even  make  a  map 
of  it,  if  that  will  give  you  any  pleasure.  J  bon  entendeur, 
saint!''  (A  word  to  the  wise  is  sufficient.) 

The  officer  let  fall  this  very  French  phrase,  emphasiz- 
ing it  in  such  a  way  that  Jean  Merrien  laughingly 
applauded  him. 

When  he  found  himself  again  among  friends,  the 
major  could  not  disguise  his  sentiments : 

''  My  dear  Merrien,  1  will  tell  you  at  once  that  the 
face  of  this  Dogra  does  not  greatly  please  me." 

''To  be  as  frank  as  yourself,  my  dear  major,  I  can 
make  the  same  confession  without  difficulty." 

"And  you,  Weldon?"  asked  the  two  Europeans 
simultaneously. 

*' Frankly,  gentlemen,"  replied  the  young  Yankee,  'M 
admit  that  I  had  not  received  the  same  impression  as 
you.  This  Rajput  seemed  to  me  very  intelligent,  and 
I  believe  him  to  be  active  and  courageous." 

They  exchanged  no  further  opinions  upon  the  subject, 
in  order  to  preserve  perfect  harmony  Weldon  proposed 
to  attach  the  guide  to  his  own  personnel.  In  that  way 
he  would  be  placed,  he  declared,  under  the  strict  sur- 
veillance of  his  two  companions,  Davis  Morley  and 
Hermann  Knebel,  the  latter  of  German  descent. 

That  very  day  Ramu  gave  his  companions  a  high 
idea  of  his  capacity.  After  some  very  natural  hesitation, 
he  came  to  announce  to  the  caravan  that  if  they  wished 
to  swerve  a  little  further  to  the  west,  they  would  find 
game  in  abundance.     The  wagons  accordingly  plunged 


56  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

into  the  forest,  and  in    less  than  three    hours  all  trace 
of  habitations  had  been  lost  sight  of. 

The  ground  rose  rapidly,  but  the  thick  curtain  of 
the  trees  did  not  admit  of  any  glimpse  of  the  horizons 
of  the  Great  Chain,  in  spite  of  the  elevation  of  the  land 
the  temperature  remained  heavy  and  suffocating.  Further- 
more, the  soil,  deeply  channeled,  and  covered  with  alluvial 
deposits  of  all  sorts  of  detritus,  rendered  walking  very 
difficult.  It  was  necessary  to  encamp  toward  the  middle 
of  the  day,  and  they  installed  themselves  in  a  sort  of 
clearing,  where  the  perpendicular  rays  of  the  sun  barely 
succeeded  in  making  some  spots  of  light  upon  the  damp 
grass. 

''  A  pretty  place  to  contract  all  sorts  of  known  and 
unknown  fevers  ! "  cried  Dr.  MacGregor. 

The  doctor  was  in  a  very  bad  humor.  He  declared 
that  if  they  lingered  only  two  days  in  that  altitude,  half 
their  force  would  be  on  their  backs. 

''Bah!"  joked  the  major.  ''We  are  at  the  same 
altitude  as  Simla,  as  Naini-Tal,  as  Ranikhet." 

"With  this  difference,"  retorted  the  physician,  "that 
Ranikhet,  Naini,  and  Simla  are  on  exposed  slopes,  down 
whose  sides  the  water  has  drained,  and  which  receive 
the  winds  direct  from  the  mountains." 

"  Let  us  not  think  of  that,"  cried  Merrien,  "  and  since 
we  have  agreed  upon  a  week  of  shooting,  out  with  the 
guns." 

This  was  the  great  compensation  for  sojourning  in 
these  unhealthful  regions. 

For  dinner  that  evening  they  had  only  game  to  eat. 
The  hunt  had  been  miraculous.  The  major  and  his  four 
companions  contributed  sixty  white  partridges,  eight 
pheasants,  and  two  grouse.     Merrien,  Graec'h,  and  Goulab 


VARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  57 

the  shikari,  preferred  the  four-footed  game.  Their  portion 
was  seven  hares  and  sixteen  Guinea  pigs.  But  the  tri- 
umph of  the  day  went  to  the  Americans.  Weldon  had 
brought  down  a  male  nilgau  close  to  the  muzzle,  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  antelope,  brought  to  bay,  leveled 
his  horns  and  charged  impetuously  upon  the  bold  hunter. 

His  two  companions  had  brought  down  two  beautiful 
fawns  of  the  same  herd. 

That  did  not  keep  the  major  from  sighing  over  what 
he  called  a  sorry  result. 

"We  have  only  had  small  game  to-day,"  he  said. 

Occasion  to  modify  his  judgment  was  not  slow  in 
coming. 

Toward  the  second  half  of  the  afternoon,  just  as  the 
English,  fLiithful  to  their  goodly  custom  of  tiffin,  that  is 
to  say  lunch,  had  laid  the  cover  in  the  shelter  of  a 
group  of  mango-trees,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  ground  was 
perfectly  dry,  cries  of  distress  rang  out,  coming  from 
the  very  edge  of  the  forest,  less  than  five  hundred  yards 
from  the  wagons. 

Everyone  seized  arms,  and  ran  in  the  direction  of  the 
outcry. 

A  frightful  spectacle  met  their  sight.  A  sort  of  marsh 
lay  beneath  the  nearer  trees.  From  the  stagnant  water 
four  or  five  hideous  reptile  heads  had  started  up,  darting 
their  forked  tongues  with  horrible  hissing.  They  were 
of  that  particular  species  called  daboia,  water  serpents, 
of  gigantic  size,  uniting  to  the  strength  of  the  boa  the 
fataJ  venom  of  the  cobra,  which  kills  in  less  than  half  an 
hour. 

A  man  belonging  to  the  escort,  one  of  those  in  the 
service  of  the  English,  was  writhing  from  many  wounds 
inflicted  by  poisoned  fangs,  a  prey  to  the  last  convul- 


58  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

sions  of  the  death  agony.  Some  steps  distant,  a  second 
Hindu  of  the  same  troop,  bound  to  a  tree  by  the  deadly 
embrace  of  an  ophidian,  was  yelling  with  pain.  His 
were  the  cries  that  had  given  the  alarm. 

To  rescue  him  it  would  be  necessary  to  pass  over  the 
bodies  of  five  threatening  daboias. 

Goulab  made  this  useful  though  little  comforting 
observation  : 

"  It  is  neither  a  naga  nor  a  daboia  which  is  holding  him  ; 
it  has  no  fangs.     It  is  a  python." 

But  whether  the  poor  boy  must  be  crushed  to  death  or 
poisoned  mattered  little.  The  essential  thing  was  that  he 
should  not  die.  But  the  embrace  of  the  constrictor  tight- 
ened, making  the  limbs  of  the  poor  wretch  crack. 
Shooting  could  not  be  thought  of.  Besides  the  chance 
that  the  ball  might  glance  harmless  from  the  scales  of 
the  serpent,  there  were  ten  chances  to  one  of  killing  the 
unfortunate  being  held  in  his  entwining  grasp. 

Fortunately,  Jean  Merrien  was  a  man  of  resource. 
He  had  foreseen  such  an  emergency,  and  was  provided 
with  special  arms  of  his  own  invention. 

With  a  gesture  he  indicated  to  Graec'h  the  ax  that  he 
wore  at  his  belt,  and  cried  to  him  : 

''  To  the  man  !  extricate  him.  1  will  take  care  of  these 
villainous  water  beasts." 

Then  he  was  seen  to  draw  from  a  sort  of  quiver 
that  hung  at  his  waist  a  syringe  terminating  in  a  rose 
like  that  of  a  watering-pot.  He  rapidly  filled  it  half  full 
from  the  stagnant  pool,  then  he  poured  into  it  some 
drops  from  a  flask  which  he  drew  from  his  game  pouch. 
Then  he  marched  resolutely  against  the  daboias,  who,  far 
from  avoiding  him,  raised  themselves  in  increased  fury 
in  front  of  him. 


VARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  59 

The  syringe  did  its  work.  It  threw  upon  the  ophidians 
a  large  jet  of  the  corrosive  liquid  that  it  contained.  The 
effect  was  immediate.  Struck  on  the  points  of  their  vis- 
cous rings,  the  hideous  creatures  showed  by  their  quicker 
hissing,  and  by  their  convulsive  movements,  that  the 
vitriol  was  burning  their  skins  and  penetrating  deep  into 
their  flesh. 

Without  pausing,  Merrien  quickened  the  terrible 
sprinkling,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  five  dying  reptiles 
fell  back  into  the  muddy  water  of  the  marsh,  showing 
the  scales  of  their  bellies,  after  the  manner  of  dead  fish. 

The  way  was  clear.  The  Breton  leaped  with  a  bound 
to  the  succor  of  the  unfortunate  Hindu,  whom  the  python 
was  lacerating  with  cruel  wounds  while  endeavoring  to 
strangle  him.  The  herculean  hand  of  Euzen  Graec'h 
had  torn  the  head  of  the  ophidian  from  the  shoulder  of 
its  victim  in  which  it  had  buried  its  fangs,  and  pressed 
it  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree. 

A  single  blow  of  the  ax  decapitated  the  creature,  whose 
rings  at  once  relaxed,  letting  the  enormous  body  fall 
inert,  still  shaken  by  the  spasms  of  death. 

They  drew  the  swooning  Indian  from  its  embrace, 
and  hastened  to  lavish  on  him  the  care  that  his  con- 
dition demanded.  Happily  the  daboias  had  not  touched 
him,  and  he  had  had  the  truly  extraordinary  fortune 
to  be  picked  out  by  the  python.  They  had,  therefore, 
only  to  wash  and  then  to  cauterize  his  wounds.  As  to 
his  companion,  all  efforts  in  his  behalf  were  henceforth 
useless.  Already  swollen  and  distended,  his  body  cov- 
ered with  green  blotches,  his  tongue  tumefied,  his 
wounds — he  had  received  more  than  twenty  bites — puru- 
lent and  bluish,  the  Hindu  could  not  be  long  in  succumb- 
ing.    He  expired,  indeed,  at  the  end  of  some  moments. 


6o  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

literally  asphyxiated  by  the  poison,  and  with  nerves  agi- 
tated by  tetanic  convulsions. 

This  event  sobered  all  hearts.  The  major  himself, 
ordinarily  so  bravely  care-free,  could  not  repress  his 
sadness. 

The  man  who  had  just  died  was  an  old  servant 
who  had  been  over  fifteen  years  in  his  service,  and  who 
possessed  his  entire  confidence. 

In  the  midst  of  the  comments  provoked  by  this 
catastrophe,  Goulab  the  shikari,  whose  brows  were 
knit,  put  in  his  word,  which  was  anything  but  re- 
assuring. 

''One  thing  astonishes  me  in  all  this,"  he  said. 
''Among  the  innumerable  varieties  of  serpents  which 
infect  Indian  territory,  there  is  hardly  one  who  dares 
attack  a  man  except  the  cobra-di-capello.  Even  then 
the  man  must  surprise  it,  and  disturb  its  sleep.  As  to 
the  boas  and  daboias,  they  are  reptiles  whose  first 
movement  is  of  flight,  and  who  only  defend  themselves 
in  the  last  extremity.  1  am  utterly  surprised  by  what 
has  just  taken  place.  I  find  it  so  very  strange  that  I 
dare  not  yet  express  an  opinion  on  the  subject." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  questioned  Merrien.  "  What 
are  you  concealing  under  this  reticence  ? " 

The  shikari  shook  his  head,  and  contented  himself 
with  responding  enigmatically  : 

"Sahib,  when  the  wounded  man  is  able  to  speak 
to  you,  ask  him  simply  how  his  accident  occurred,  how 
the  thing  was  done.  I  have  no  right  to  say  more  at 
present."  And  urge  as  they  might,  the  Indian  refused  to 
throw  off  his  reserve. 

"Truly,"  said  young  Weldon,  who  appeared  strongly 
moved  by  the  incident,   "there  is  good  reason  for  say- 


A   SINGLE   BLOW    OF    THE   AX    DECAPITATED    THE   CREATURE. 


62  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

ing  that  India  is  the  land  of  mysteries.  I  come  from  a 
country  where  serpents  certainly  are  not  lacking ;  where 
they  are  as  formidable  as  these.  But  our  trigonocephales, 
our  rattlesnakes,  would  not  venture  thus  imprudently  to 
approach  the  neighborhood  of  man.  You  have  just  heard, 
moreover,  the  reflections  of  this  shikari.  He  also  finds 
it  strange,  even  inexplicable.  I  should  like  to  know,  I 
admit,  the  hypothesis  that  he  has  conceived." 

''Meanwhile,"  grumbled  the  major,  ''1  have  just  lost 
in  a  single  instant  my  poor  old  Gourap-Sing.  1  cannot  be 
reconciled  to  it." 

He  was  sincere.  The  cruel  fate  of  his  faithful  behra 
caused  him  violent  grief,  and  had  he  been  able  to  vent 
his  sorrow,  aggravated  by  the  mysterious  words  of 
Goulab,  he  would  have  pitilessly  killed  the  man  or  the 
animals  whose  imprudence  or  stupidity  had  led  to  this 
terrible  catastrophe.  Naturally,  the  day  ended  in  gloom. 
They  dined  rather  early  on  an  excellent  curry  made  by 
Salem-Bun  out  of  white  meat. 

Then,  night  having  fallen,  they  stockaded  the  wagons, 
and  lighted  six  fires,  to  guard  which  they  stationed  some 
Doums  recruited  in  the  neighborhood,  over  whom  the 
travelers  kept  watch  two  by  two,  in  turn.  This  was 
not  a  useless  precaution,  as  they  were  soon  in  a  posi- 
tion to  recognize. 

Indeed,  darkness  had  hardly  closed  down  before  the 
noises  of  the  forest  broke  forth,  discordant  at  first,  but 
soon  united  and  blended  in  an  immense  concert,  to  which 
every  beast  in  creation  contributed  his  note.  It  com- 
menced by  the  yelping  of  jackals,  and  the  mournful 
notes  of  the  great  horned  owls,  to  which  were  soon 
added  the  bellowings  of  those  enormous  frogs,  sisters 
of  the  American  pipas,  which  people  all  the   marshes  of 


l^ARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  63 

India.  Then  this  prelude  gradually  died  down,  as  if  the 
murmur  of  the  overture  had  given  way  to  the  virtuosos, 
to  the  great  chief  performers.  To  the  cries  of  the  wide- 
mouthed  frogs  succeeded  the  bellowing  of  the  true  rumi- 
nants, such  as  the  formidable  gdial,  with  a  head  maned 
like  that  of  the  yak,  the  bison,  and  the  buffalo  of  the 
swamps,  the  most  terrible,  perhaps,  of  the  wild  inhab- 
itants of  the  jungle,  the  only  one,  which,  like  the  rhi- 
noceros, every  day  growing  more  rare,  always  attacks 
the  white  man,  for  whom  it  seems  to  feel  a  furious 
hatred. 

Soon  afterward  troops  of  wild  elephants  started  the 
echoes  with  their  cries  like  the  jangle  of  a  bronze  rattle, 
and  the  travelers  trembled  at  the  mere  thought  that  a 
band  of  these  gigantic  animals  might  surprise  their  encamp- 
ment. They  knew  well  that  the  gangs  of  gandas,  or 
tusked  elephants,  are  never  under  a  dozen  individuals, 
composing  two  or  three  families.  What  could  they  do 
in  the  way  of  defense,  in  the  presence  of  such  formidable 
adversaries.  They  did  not  breathe  easily  until  the  noise 
of  the  voices  was  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 

But  then  a  new  voice  arose,  which  at  once  imposed 
silence  upon  the  bellowings  and  wailings.  A  long 
shudder  was  heard  to  run  through  the  thick  under- 
brush— the  sound  of  animals  fleeing  or  crowding  close 
together,  to  avoid  the  pursuit  of  the  great  wanderer  of 
the  night,  the  frightful  huntsman  thirsting  for  warm 
blood,  starving  for  palpitating  flesh.  The  bagh-sahib, 
the  seigneur  tiger  was  prowling  in  the  woods,  in  quest 
of  his  repast. 

The  tiger  has  no  cry.  It  is  an  imitative  play  of  sound 
that  has  given  birth  to  the  word  feulement,  because  of 
that  particular  sound   which    comes    from    the   animal's 


64  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

throat  at  the  moment  when  the  muscles  of  its  face  con- 
tract in  a  grin  of  defiance.  One  clearly  distinguishes  the 
letter  f  ox  v  lengthening  into  a  yawn,  that  terminates 
in  the  growl  of  a  double-bass  roughened  by  an  unskillful 
stroke  of  the  bow. 

When  the  day  had  finally  dawned,  after  long  terrors, 
Merrien  gathered  together  his  companions. 

''Gentlemen,"  he  said  to  them,  "\  shall,  perhaps, 
greatly  astonish  you  by  speaking  the  language  of  pru- 
dence. But  I  have  always  considered,  and  I  judge  that 
you  are  all  of  you  of  my  opinion,  that  courage  does  not 
consist  in  throwing  one's  self  heedlessly  into  the  midst  of 
danger. 

''Now  let  me  say  to  you  that  we  have  acted  with 
absolute  heedlessness,  and  it  is  a  veritable  miracle  that 
we  have  not  been  crushed  or  devoured  during  the  past 
night  by  the  multitude  of  mischievous  creatures  which 
have  surrounded  us.  If  I  may  believe  the  testimony  of 
Goulab,  an  expert  in  these  matters,  buffaloes  and  gaials 
have  approached  our  camp  by  hundreds.  The  shikari, 
moreover,  counted  tigers  to  the  number  of  five,  and 
elephants  to  the  number  of  eighteen   or  twenty." 

"  It  is  certain,"  said  Cecil  Weldon,  with  emphasis, 
"that  I  have  not  felt  very  tranquil." 

"Consequently,"  pursued  the  Frenchman,  "  1  propose 
that  we  ascend  some  miles  to  the  west,  in  order  to 
insure  ourselves  a  better  shelter  than  that  of  our  wooden 
wagons,  which  would  not  form  a  sufficient  rampart 
against  beasts  of  the  size  of  gandas  and  buffaloes." 

"All  right!"  concluded  the  major.  "You  speak 
\yisely,  Mr.  Merrien,  and  your  advice  will  be  particularly 
acceptable  to  the  doctor,  who  fears  nothing  so  much 
as  the  miasma  of  these  marshes." 


l^ARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  65 

Camp  was  therefore  broken,  and,  after  a  glance  at 
the  map,  they  decided  to  appioach  Keddrnath,  from 
which  they  were  separated  by  a  distance  of  not  more 
than  thirty  kilometers.  Certainly  they  could  not  fail  to 
come  across  one  of  those  bungalows  placed  by  the 
order  of  the  English  administration  on  all  the  lost  roads 
of  India,  and  at  which  no  traveler  can  remain  more 
than  one  day,  unless  provided  with  a  special  permit 
according  him  a  longer  period  of  subsistence. 

At  the  moment  of  departure  they  called  the  roll. 
Only  the  unfortunate  Gourap-Sing  was  missing,  whom 
they  had  buried  the  evening  before,  heaping  upon  the 
grave  the  heaviest  stones  that  they  could  find,  to  guard 
the  remains  from  the  profanation  of  hyenas  and  jackals. 

Merrien  remarked  that  Goulab  was  at  that  moment 
stealthily  watching  Ramu,  the  guide. 

Without  saying  a  word,  the  shikari  had  approached 
the  Dogra,  and  had  put  his  finger  on  the  arm  of  the 
Rajput,  indicating  a  scratch  an  inch  or  two  in  length, 
which  formed  a  swelling  on  the  forearm. 

Master  as  he  was  of  himself,  the  Sivaite  zealot  could 
not  restrain  a  start. 

''Serpent's  tooth,"  said  the  Sikh  finally,  speaking 
laconically  in  his  own  language. 

''Yes,"  confessed  the  Dogra,  "I  have  been  bitten, 
but  1  have  washed  the  wound." 

The  incident  had  drawn  all  the  travelers  about  the 
guide,  who  could  not  repress  a  movement  of  impatience. 

The  look  which  he  cast  at  the  shikari  was  filled  with 
ferocious  hatred.  But,  without  otherwise  moving,  the 
latter  again  indicated  with  his  finger  a  flexible  malacca 
reed  half  lost  in  the  floating  folds  of  the  pagne  which 
surrounded  the  Rajput's  waist. 


66  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

''Excellent  for  cutting  the  little  ones  in  two,  insuffi- 
cient for  the  big  ones,"  said  he. 

He  articulated  these  words  clearly,  with  a  little 
guttural  laugh  full  of  insinuation. 

Merrien  knew  his  servant  well.  He  guessed  at  once 
that  Goulab  had  suspicions.  But  he  said  to  himself  at 
the  same  time  that  the  faithful  shikari  would  not 
impart  them  until  they  had  been  subjected  to  scrupu- 
lous verification. 

Nevertheless,  Goulab  profited  by  a  moment  when 
the  guide  had  gone  to  the  head  of  the  column,  to 
approach  Jean,  and  give  him  this  tolerably  enigmatic 
advice : 

''  Sahib,  recommend  the  doctor  not  to  lose  sight  of 
the  man  who  was  wounded  yesterday,  and  to  question 
him  as  soon  as  possible,  that  is,  as  soon  as  the  man  is 
in  a  condition  to  speak." 

All  this  sufficiently  obscure  language  was  not  reassur- 
ing to  the  explorer.  He  refrained,  however,  from  com- 
municating his  apprehensions  to  his  companions.  During 
the  short  time  that  he  had  been  in  his  company,  he  had 
gained  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  major's  character  to  be 
persuaded  that  he  would  not  scruple  to  break  the  guide's 
head  in  spite  of  his  presentation  by  Father  Antonio,  and 
the  excellent  references  from  the  physician  Madar-Goun. 

The  march  through  the  forest  was  accomplished  with 
difficulty.  The  principal  reason  for  this  was  that  one 
must  climb  the  gently  sloping  plane  of  the  Tarai,  and 
animals  as  well  as  people  slipped  on  this  declivity,  com- 
pletely coated  as  it  was  with  a  vegetable  mold  which 
was  constantly  enriched  by  the  leaves  and  branches,  rot- 
ting in  the  water  that  trickled  down  from  the  mountain. 

It  was,  moreover,  necessary   narrowly   to   watch  the 


VARIETIES  OF  MONSTERS.  67 

line  of  wagons,  because  from  the  tree-trunks  as  well  as 
from  the  stagnant  pools  of  water  there  might  at  any 
instant  leap  the  most  formidable  of  adversaries,  those 
hideous  serpents,  the  recognition  of  whose  presence  in 
these  dangerous  parts  had  been  only  too  well  enforced 
by  the  accident  of  the  day  before.  By  means  of  such 
precautions  as  giving  loud  cries,  and  beating  or  setting 
on  fire  the  underbrush,  this  perilous  encounter  was 
avoided. 

It  was  otherwise  with  other  wild  creatures. 

Before  reaching  the  first  encampment  for  the  day 
the  travelers  had  to  undergo  a  regular  battle. 

By  a  lucky  chance,  however,  they  had  time  to  for- 
tify themselves  against  this  terrible  onslaught,  by 
inclosing  themselves  in  an  old  cattle  park,  built  there, 
some  years  before,  by  some  Tibetan  shepherds  who 
were  bringing  to  Ratmando  their  sheep  and  their  goats 
previously  shorn  at  Hardwar. 

The  event  was  as  frightful  as  it  was  unexpected. 

Cecil  Weldon,  who  had  placed  himself  in  the  van- 
guard with  his  two  Yankee  companions  and  young 
Christi,  suddenly  informed  the  rest  of  the  troop  that  he 
had  just  discovered  traces  of  a  considerable  herd  of  large 
ruminants  I 

Little  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  these  savage 
beasts,  and  full  of  confidence,  moreover,  in  the  effect  of 
his  glance  seconded  by  his  incomparable  skill  as  a 
marksman,  the  young  American  walked  straight  up  to 
the  first  individuals  of  the  herd  that  he  met  on  his 
way.  In  this  place  the  trees,  after  having  opened  for  a 
very  defectively  marked  path,,  suddenly  cleared  upon  a 
space  of  three  or  four  square  kilometers.  They  had 
reached  one  of  the  lower  terraces  of  the  Himalayas,  and 


68 


THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 


water,  draining  from  the  slopes  or  oozing  from  the  cracks 
of  the  rocks,  formed  an  immense  marsh  hidden  by  reeds, 
bamboos,  and  tall  grasses  under  a  thick  carpet  of  vege- 
tation. There,  in  that  morass  inaccessible  to  all  other 
quadrupeds,  splashed  and  pastured  at  their  ease  a  score 
of  gaurs  (wild  oxen)  with  sharp  horns,  and  quite  as 
many  black  buffaloes  with  enormous  foreheads,  protected 
by  inordinately  large  horns  expanding  on  either  side  in 
frightfully  threatening  curves. 

The  buffalo  of  India  has  the  disquieting  peculiarity  of 
making  spontaneous  attacks,  above  all,  when  the  enemy 
upon  which  he  charges  is  a  European.  He  offers, 
furthermore,  to  the  inexperienced  hunter  the  disagreeable 
surprise  of  presenting  a  skull  that  is  impervious  to  balls, 
unless  the  balls  are  conical  and  provided  with  steel 
tips. 

The  imprudent  Weldon  had  plenty  of  steel-tipped 
balls,  but  he  had  neglected  to  put  them  in  his  hunting 
belt.  It  was,  therefore,  only  with  ordinary  leaden  bullets 
that  he  went  forth  to  the  battle. 


THEY    DREW    CECIL    WELDON,    ALMOST    SWOONING,    FROM    UNDER  THE   BUFFALO'S    BODY. 


V. 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF  THE  HOLY  GANGES. 


While  the  rest  of  the  column  were,  with  great  diffi- 
culty, extricating  themselves  from  the  embarrassments  of 
the  road,  which  was  nearly  obliterated  by  landslides  due 
to  the  constant  undermining  of  the  earth  by  the  rains, 
the  three  Yankees  had  already  reached  the  verdant  terrace 
in  the  center  of  which  gamboled  buffaloes  and  gaurs. 

''Major,"    the    audacious    young    man    cried    from    a 

distance,  ''you    have    desired  a  hunting   trip.    You  are 

marvelously  gratified,  and  1  shall  be  most  happy  presently 

to  ofter  you  some  roast-beef  such,  I  imagine,  as  you  can 

eat   neither   in    London    nor    in    Calcutta."     The    breeze 

blowing  from  the  hills  carried  his  voice.     Unfortunately 

it  beat  back  that  of  his  companions,  who   immediately 

gathered  together  to  call  to  him  with  violent  gestures  to 

69 


70  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

retrace  his  steps  at  once,  before  he  had  been  perceived 
by  the  formidable  ruminants. 

Thus  Cecil  Weldon  heard  not  a  word  of  the  wise 
cautions  given  him  by  his  friends. 

He  advanced  upon  the  species  of  causeway,  or  rather 
upon  the  pier  of  rocks  which  Nature  herself  had  built 
across  the  enormous  marsh,  without  paying  attention 
to  the  tumultuous  movements  caused  among  the  agi- 
tated herd  of  wild  oxen  by  the  apparition  of  three 
white-clad  men. 

But  there  was  no  time  for  long  remarks  on  the 
subject. 

Abruptly  one  of  the  gaurs  started  from  the  grass 
with  a  bellow  of  anger,  shaking  his  mane  that  dripped 
fetid  mire,  and  Weldon,  whatever  his  courage,  could  not 
repress  a  shudder  at  the  sight  of  the  formidable  animal 
which,  lowering  its  horns,  spouting  foam  and  vapor  at 
the  mouth  and  nostrils,  advanced  toward  him  with  blood- 
shot eyes,  at  a  steadily  increasing  pace.  He  could  not 
mistake  the  hostile  intentions  of  the  beast,  which  must 
be  stopped  without  loss  of  time. 

Cecil  Weldon  did  not  hesitate.  Rapidly  raising  his 
rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and  aiming  between  the  gaur's 
eyes,  he  pulled  the  trigger.  The  animal,  struck  down, 
fell  headlong  on  the  jetty,  while  the  echoes  of  the  swamp 
repeated  the  report  with  such  force  that  the  tumult  was 
increased  a  hundred-fold  by  the  neighboring  buttresses  of 
rock. 

But,  at  the  same  time,  this  unusual  noise,  instead  of 
terrifying  the  herd,  only  excited  their  rage.  In  an  instant 
the  terrible  animals,  advancing  by  groups  of  four  or  five, 
precipitated  themselves  upon  the  jetty  of  stones. 

The  situation  became  truly  critical. 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  71 

The  young  American  was  too  adventurous.  Although 
he  had  not  proceeded  more  than  a  hundred  steps  upon 
this  natural  road,  which  might  have  been  cut  by  the 
strange  gods  of  Hindu  mythology,  in  those  fabulous 
times  when  Kama  made  alliance  with  Hanuman,  King  of 
the  Apes,  Cecil  ran  great  risk  of  being  outflanked,  and 
having  all  retreat  cut  off  by  the  aggression  of  his  impla- 
cable adversaries.  He  turned,  after  having  retreated  some 
fifteen  meters,  and  his  alarm  was  great  at  perceiving  two 
gigantic  buffaloes  charging  upon  the  causeway.  A  cry  of 
distress  naturally  rose  to  his  lips.  He  called  :  ''  Help, 
Morley,  Knebel,  help  !    Shoot !    Shoot !    or  we  are  lost !  " 

The  two  Yankees  fired  simultaneously.  One  of  the 
buffaloes  fell  into  the  mud  *  of  the  swamp.  The  other, 
confused  for  a  moment,  stopped  short  on  the  first  steps 
of  the  rocks,  and  set  up  a  frightful  bellowing.  Knebel, 
the  American  of  German  extraction,  seemed  suddenly 
struck  with  terror,  and  fled  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  take 
him,  without  pausing  for  the  furious  imprecations  of  his 
comrade  or  the  reiterated  appeals  from  Weldon. 

Meanwhile,  two  other  beasts  had  set  foot  upon  the 
causeway.  Now  the  two  men  were  facing  three  assail- 
ants.   Never  had  greater  peril  confronted  them. 

Happily  the  convoy  hastened  up.  Merrien,  Euzen 
Graec'h,  the  shikari,  and  the  five  Englishmen  flew 
rather  than  ran.  Three  shots  again  rang  out.  Two  of 
the  ruminants  fell.  The  third  in  spite  of  his  rage  recoiled 
before  the  number  of  the  new-comers,  and  plunged  into 
the  marsh. 

Cecil  Weldon  profited  by  this  short  respite  to  beat  a 
precipitate  retreat.  But  he  had  not  yet  gained  the 
extremity  of  the  causeway  when  six  buffaloes  of  great 
size  threw  themselves  forward  in  attack. 


^2  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

But  one  of  the  recently  fallen  beasts  lay  across  the 
road.  At  the  moment  that  Weldon,  carried  away  by  his 
haste,  with  his  eyes  turned  toward  his  assailants,  reached 
the  body,  his  foot  struck  the  enormous  mass  sharply, 
and  he  fell  upon  the  yet  warm  remains  of  the  wild  ox. 

Behind  him  the  irritated  animals  were  coming  at  the 
top  of  their  speed. 

The  fall  he  had  just  had  saved  the  young  American. 
Stunned  by  the  shock,  he  lay  quiet  for  some  seconds. 
This  short  delay  sufficed  to  avert  danger.  The  thin, 
trembling  voice  of  little  Christi  reached  Weldon's  ears. 

"  Don't  budge.  Sahib  ;  do  not  rise  !  Put  yourself  under 
the  animal's  belly." 

Weldon  crouched  as  best  he  could  between  the  feet 
of  the  carcass.  During  this  time,  the  buffaloes,  hindered 
by  the  narrowness  of  the  causeway,  became  entangled 
one  with  another,  and  stumbled  with  all  the  impetuosity 
of  their  chase  over  the  dead  body.  The  shock  the 
young  man  sustained  was  a  rude  one,  but  it  gave  him 
the  advantage  of  covering  himself  almost  entirely  with  the 
enormous  prostrate  mass.  He  thus  at  least  escaped  the 
violence  of  the  assault. 

At  the  same  moment  Merrien  and  his  companions, 
running  to  the  rescue,  fired  simultaneously  upon  the 
thick,  living  barrier  of  entangled  ruminants.  This  time 
the  balls  were  steel-tipped.  Five  buffaloes  fell,  pierced 
in  skull  or  flank.  This  made  nine  bodies,  a  more  than 
sufficient  obstacle  temporarily  to  check  all  new  demon- 
strations from  these  stupidly  headstrong  beasts. 

They  ran  at  once   to   poor   Cecil,  whom  they  drew, 
almost  swooning,  from  under  the  carcass,  the  weight  of 
which  was   stifling  him.     There  was  no  thought  of  too- 
bitterly  reproaching  Knebel  for  his  recent  shameful  flight. 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  71 

pLirthermore,  this  had  been  but  a  passing  weakness  on 
his  part.  The  Yankee  had  returned  bravely  to  the 
charge.  He  excused  himself  later,  alleging  a  sudden 
irresistible  giving  out,  the  effect  of  which  had  been 
physical,  causing  the  nervous  system  to  be  thrown  into 
a  perturbation  that  he  himself  could  not  explain. 

There  was,  moreover,  no  time  to  lose  in  recrimi- 
nations. Frightful  bellowings,  rising  from  the  marsh, 
announced,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  the 
entire  troop,  with  an  esprit  dii  corps  as  ferocious  as  it 
was  obstinate,  was  about  to  return  to  the  charge. 

They  beat  a  retreat  in  all  haste  toward  the  wagons, 
and  they  all  experienced  a  lively  satisfaction  in  finding 
that  Ramu,  the  guide,  had  already  placed  the  wagons 
and  the  animals  within  the  shelter  of  the  stockaded 
inclosure  of  an  old  abandoned  park. 

Alas !  it  was  but  a  very  uncertain  shelter.  The  badly 
joined  palings,  of  a  height  scarcely  sufficient  to  keep  the 
beasts  without  from  leaping  them,  were  worm-eaten 
besides,  and  worn  by  remaining  long  in  the  stagnant 
water  of  the  heavy  rains.  It  was  necessary  at  once  to 
make  additional  strategic  arrangements  by  placing  the 
various  wagons  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  a  second 
inclosure.  The  marksmen  were  placed  according  to  their 
skill,  at  posts  necessary  to  the  defense.  Merrien,  Plumptre, 
Goulab,  and  the  American  Morley  stood  in  front  of  the 
palisade,  while  the  four  Englishmen,  Graec'h,  and  the 
seven  Indians  of  the  escort  installed  themselves  at  the 
windows  of  the  dock-carriages.  The  second  of  the  two 
Yankees  and  the  little  Madrasi  had  enough  to  do  in 
attending  to  Cecil  Weldon. 

The  besieged  had  barely  time  to  make  their  prepara- 
tions   for    combat.      Twenty    buffaloes    and     ten    gaurs 


74  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

advanced  in  one  compact  mass,  necks  extended,  horns 
menacing,  scanning  the  marsh  with  rhythmical  and  sono- 
rous bellowings.  And  it  was  an  astonishing  spectacle, 
that  of  this  strange  army  marching  to  the  attack  like  a 
well-drilled  regiment  to  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  bugles. 
It  had  been  decided  that  the  major  should  have  the 
direction  of  operations,  and  in  order  to  obtain  more  unity, 
and  more  effective  results,  they  were  to  shoot  only  at  his 
command.  He  ordered  them  to  aim  particularly  at  the 
buffaloes,  the  gaurs  being  of  a  less  aggressive  and  tena- 
cious disposition.  They  commanded  sixteen  rifles,  and, 
said  the  major,  it  would  be  entirely  inexcusable  for 
them  to  be  conquered  by  a  troop  of  oxen. 

"Attention  !  "  he  cried,  ''  the  tide  is  rising.  Aim  well, 
without  haste." 

He  waited  until  the  attacking  line  of  the  troop  had 
come  within  sixty  paces  of  the  palisade.  Then,  placing 
his  rifle  quietly  against  the  palings,  he  counted  with  his 
hands  : 

''One!  two!  three!  Fire!"  The  discharge  struck 
the  assailants  like  a  tempest.  All  the  shots  had  told. 
Fifteen  shaggy,  muddy  bodies  lay  on  the  reddened  grass. 

Plumptre,  laughing,  amused  himself  by  bringing  down 
the  sixteenth. 

But  such  was  the  obstinacy  of  these  stupid  creatures, 
that,  closing  their  ranks  on  the  spot,  the  survivors 
rushed  upon  the  kraal  with  such  speed  that  the  besieged, 
taken  by  surprise,  had  no  time  to  anticipate  the  second 
attack.  Three  or  four  isolated  shots  alone  rang  out.  A 
single  gaur  was  struck.  The  rest  of  the  troop  rushed 
against  the  palings  with  frightful  impetuosity.  The  stock- 
ade yielded  under  the  pressure,  and  one  of  the  buffaloes, 
carried    away    by    the    impetus    of  his   onslaught,  upset 


"the  buffaloes  and  the  gaurs  rushed  upon  the  krall." 


76  THE  LAND   OF   TA[VNY  BEASTS. 

Goulab,  and  entangled  his  horns  in  the  wheels  of  the 
first  wagon.  The  breach  was  made,  the  whole  herd 
were  about  to  invade  the  encampment.  Suddenly,  the 
band  stopped  short  and  pricked  up  their  ears.  Then, 
renouncing  their  attack  upon  the  travelers,  the  formidable 
animals  retreated  some  paces,  and,  with  hollow  bellow- 
ings,  gathered  together  back  to  back,  in  the  manner  of 
bulls  protecting  their  families  against  wolves.  With  a 
furious  wrench  which  shook  the  vehicle,  the  buffalo 
whose  horn  was  caught  between  the  spokes  extricated 
himself,  and  rejoined  his  fellows. 

''Ho,  ho!"  said  Jean  Merrien.  'Mt  occurs  to  me  that 
we  shall  be  better  off  inside  the  wagons.  Something 
new  is  certainly  up,  and  from  our  windows  we  shall  be 
in  the  best  possible  position  to  see,  and  to  interfere,  if 
necessary." 

The  prediction  was  too  well  founded,  and  the  counsel 
too  wise  to  be  neglected. 

They,  therefore,  replaced  their  wagons,  and  shut 
themselves  in,  not  without  serious  apprehensions  as  to 
the  fate  of  the  mules  and  the  domestic  buffaloes  inclosed 
within  the  kraal.  What  was  about  to  happen  ?  No  one 
could  guess  precisely,  but  everyone  understood  that  the 
savage  inhabitants  of  the  swamp  had  so  unexpectedly 
given  up  their  attack  because  they  feared  to  be  them- 
selves attacked.  Furthermore,  their  attitude,  their  tactics 
of  common  resistance,  would  have  revealed  to  the  most 
ignorant  eye  that  they  were  preparing  for  combat. 

The  travelers  were  promptly  enlightened,  and  shut 
within  their  wagons,  they  could  not  help,  in  spite  of 
their  anxiety,  contemplating,  as  passionately  interested 
spectators,  the  most  stirring  drama  that  it  was  ever 
given    to    human    eye    to    witness.      The    scene    was 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  77 

worthy  of  the  epic  tableaux  given  in  the  great  amphi- 
theaters of  Rome. 

While  twelve  or  thirteen  united  animals  presented 
to  the  still  invisible  enemy  a  cluster  of  menacing  horns, 
uttering  from  time  to  time  deep  murmurs,  suggesting 
the  first  rumblings  of  thunder,  the  neighboring  under- 
brush was  agitated  by  the  coming  of  the  wild  beasts 
whose  presence  the  buffaloes  had  got  wind  of. 

Suddenly,  almost  simultaneously,  they  showed  them- 
selves at  four  different  points  in  the  clearing.  Three 
tigers  and  two  tigresses  appeared  under  a  stream  of 
sunlight  on  the  carpet  of  high  grasses. 

They  were  marvelous  animals,  in  all  the  splendor 
of  their  golden  fur  striated  with  black  velvet,  in  all 
the  elegance  of  their  light,  nervous  carriage.  They 
belonged  to  that  Bengal  race  which  prevails  over  the 
species  of  Indo-China  and  the  Sunda  Isles,  just  as  the 
lion  of  the  Atlas  prevails  over  its  conquerors  of  Senegal 
or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  deserve  their  name 
of  "royal  tiger."  Much  taller  than  their  brothers  of 
the  other  parts  of  Asia,  ten  or  eleven  feet  long  from 
the  muzzle  to  the  end  of  the  tail,  with  the  face  framed 
in  large  cheeks  with  silky  white  whiskers,  the  terrible 
felines  justify  the  terror  which  their  prodigious  force 
and  startling  beauty  inspire,  not  only  in  men  but  in  all 
Jiving  creatures. 

They  approached  as  by  a  preconcerted  signal,  and 
prefaced  with  movements  full  of  undulating  grace  the 
strategic  maneuvers  which  they  were  about  to  put  in 
practice. 

At  the  windows  of  the  camp  wagons  the  explorers 
stood  motionless  and  panting.  Each  had  his  rifle  in 
his  hand,  and  his  cartridges  ready. 


78  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

Cecil  Weldoii,  in  spite  of  the  bruises  he  had  re- 
ceived, had  obstinately  refused  the  assistance  of  his 
companions.  While  still  pale  enough  he  had  desired  to 
be  present  at  the  spectacle,  and  rejoined  his  colleagues 
in  Jean  Merrien's  wagon,  where  they  had  chosen  their 
place. 

''  We  are  going  to  assist  at  a  drama  entirely  unique 
of  its  kind,"  cried  Major  Plumptre. 

"God  grant,"  added  Dr.  MacGregor,  a  little  crustily, 
''that  we  may  be  spectators  only." 

There  was  very  little  leisure  for  further  reflection. 
The  curtain  had  risen,  the  first  act  of  the  drama  was 
about  to  begin.  The  five  tigers  had  commenced  to  prowl 
about  the  circle  of  buffaloes. 

This  formidable  rampart  of  horns,  this  fortress  of 
powerful  spines  buttressed  against  one  another,  whose 
shaggy  convexity  hid  the  cruppers  from  sight,  were  very 
well  qualified  to  inspire  the  felines  with  the  sentiment  of 
prudence.  They  understood  that  all  their  suppleness,  all 
their  lightness,  would  not  serve  them  either  against 
these  enormous  heads  capable  of  grinding  them  upon  the 
ground  and  crushing  them  against  the  trunks  of  trees, 
or  against  the  pointed  tusks,  a  single  well-directed  blow 
from  which  would  suffice  to  disembowel  them. 

It  was  necessary  for  them  to  use  strategy  in  their 
attempt  to  break  the  line  by  drawing  one  of  the  formi- 
dable creatures  outside  ot  the  ranks.  Invincible  as  a  fort, 
taken  in  the  aggregate,  the  buffaloes  and  gaurs  would 
promptly  lose  their  advantage  when  their  line  of  battle 
suffered  any  break.  For  then  it  would  be  mere  play 
for  the  tigers  to  take  them  from  behind,  seize  them  by 
their  cruppers,  or  grapple  with  them  in  the  way  a  bull- 
dog grapples  a  wild  boar.     In  order  to  attain  this   result 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  79 

the  five  tawny  beasts  set  about  fascinating  their  adver- 
saries by  confusing  their  vision  with  the  rapidity  and 
multiplicity  of  their  movements.  Slowly,  at  first,  and 
with  apparent  indifference  they  paced  about  the  clearing 
with  great  steps,  then,  accelerating  their  pace,  they  dropped 
imperceptibly  into  a  sort  of  undulating  trot  of  such  gra- 
cious sprightliness  that,  in  the  wagon  of  the  Europeans, 
Euzen  Graec'h  made  the  picturesque  remark  : 

"  Hullo  !  1  wonder  how  long  they  mean  to  dance  that 
quadrille  ?  " 

To  which  Merrien  on  his  side  added  the  no  less  just 
reflection,  founded  on  the  peculiar  capriciousness  of 
tigers  : 

"Unless  it  occurs  to  them  to  leave  these  wild  buffa- 
loes in  the  lurch  to  come  and  eat  ours." 

The  question  of  the  French  traveler  was  a  most 
natural  one.  He  was  obliged,  however,  to  content  him- 
self with  the  approximate  answer  with  which  Goulab 
the  shikari  furnished  him.  The  latter  explained,  in 
effect,  that  the  tiger  is  an  animal  whose  sense  of  smell 
is  but  moderately  developed,  and  that  these  perhaps  had 
not  distinguished  the  trail  of  the  wild  beasts  from  that 
of  the  others.  These  last  being  placed  between  them  and 
the  corral,  the  felines  had  judged  it  to  be  better  tactics 
to  clear  the  ground  to  the  profit  of  their  insatiable 
ferocity. 

Now  the  wild  beasts,  hastening  their  pace,  varying 
their  feints,  gave  themselves  up  to  unrestrained  leaps, 
crossing  their  ellipses,  springing  to  great  heights  to  fall 
again  lightly  upon  the  grass,  where  they  stretched  them- 
selves, twisting  and  rolling  like  kittens,  and  striving 
more  and  more  to  induce  a  break  in  the  skillful  order  of 
their  enemies. 


So  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

But  the  latter  did  not  quit  their  defensive  position  ; 
lii<e  those  Saxons  of  Hastings,  invincible  behind  their 
stockades,  who  did  not  succumb  until  they  were  forced  to 
descend  into  the  plain  in  pursuit  of  the  astute  Normans. 

Suddenly  the  tigers,  weary  perhaps  with  too  long 
effort,  risked  an  assault  from  the  front.  Two  of  them, 
rising  in  a  concentric  spring,  passed  over  the  heads  of 
the  buffaloes  and  fell  upon  the  mass  of  crowded  rumps. 
They  did  not  remain  there  long.  Two  giant  horns 
received  the  first  one  on  the  fly,  and  like  a  gigantic 
racket  sent  him  violently  outside  the  circle. 

The  other  had  not  time  to  plant  his  claws  in  the 
backs  on  which  he  had  fallen.  These  separated,  and  the 
tiger  falling  into  the  opening,  found  himself  immediately 
crushed  with  such  force  that  his  sides  cracked.  Then 
when,  with  a  more  energetic  wrench,  the  animals  had 
let  him  fall  at  their  feet,  they  trampled  and  mangled 
him  with  fury. 

In  vain  the  tiger  tried  to  strike  his  terrible  blow 
right  and  left,  the  victory  remained  with  the  well-drilled 
ruminants,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  superb 
furry  coat  was  spotted  and  defiled,  and  the  supple  body 
twisted  and  crushed  among  the  mass  of  the  assailants, 
iind  the  beautiful,  imprudent  animal,  pierced  by  many 
horns,  with  broken  bones  and  crushed  paws,  was  finally 
rejected  by  the  hostile  line,  or  rather  thrown  back, 
dying,  to  his  brothers,  where  he  expired  in  a  few  swift 
convulsions.  The  felines  recoiled,  rendered  prudent  by 
this  grave  check,  while  the  buffaloes  celebrated  their 
victory  by  a  long  bellow. 

But  the  tigers  responded  in  concert  with  hoarse  growls. 
Evidently  they  did  not  confess  themselves  vanquished. 

Pretending  to  give  up  the  struggle,  they  appeared  to 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  8i 

content  themselves  with  the  bodies  felled  by  the  balls 
of  the  explorers.  Consequently  they  approached  the 
heap  of  carcasses  with  considerable  indifference,  and 
crouched  to  lick  off  the  blood,  without,  however,  showing 
much  appetite  for  it,  for  the  remains,  cold  already,  were 
little  to  their  taste. 

Nevertheless,  this  stratagem  changed  in  an  instant 
the  repective  situations  of  the  combatants. 

The  buffaloes  proceeded  to  assume  the  offensive. 
Breaking  their  circle  of  resistance,  they  drew  up  in  a 
single  line  of  attack,  and  set  up  a  frightful  clamor  of  war. 
The  ground  trembled  under  their  onset.  They  charged 
straight  for  the  tigers,  swinging  their  enormous  heads 
from  right  to  left,  and  striving  to  gain  by  the  shortest 
road  the  marsh,  where  they  would  find  shelter. 

The  felines  did  not  await  the  attack.  They  fled  on 
either  side  to  make  way  for  the  onslaught,  comprehend- 
ing that  the  victory  would  finally  be  theirs.  And  while 
the  ranks  of  the  ruminants,  forcibly  hindered  by  the 
prostrate  bodies,  broke  up  into  several  parts,  the  tigers, 
turning  the  enemy's  flank,  and  taking  them  in  the  rear, 
precipitated  themselves  upon  the  troop  in  a  concentrated 
attack,  and  instantly  put  them  to  rout. 

It  was  the  gaurs,  less  robust  and  less  swift,  who 
had  to  bear  the  greater  penalties  of  the  combat. 
Three  among  them  were  seized  and  stricken  down  by 
the  three  uninjured  tigers.  As  to  the  fourth,  the  one 
who;?  imprudent  aggression  had  been  so  rudely 
repulsed  by  the  buffaloes,  he  avenged  himself  by  seiz- 
ing the  throat  of  a  young  female,  whose  warm  blood 
and  tenderer  flesh  permitted  him  to  recuperate  the 
forces  that  had  sustained  so  severe  a  trial.  Thus  the 
combat  ended. 


82  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

But  that  was  not  any  more  encouraging  for  the 
travelers.  Plumptre,  whose  fingers  clutched  the  barrel 
of  his  rifle,  made  a  bold  proposition,  the  logic  of  which, 
however,  convinced  the  entire  company. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  ''you  are  aware  that  the 
seigneur  bagh  is  a  glutton  of  the  first  order,  who  does  not 
eat  the  half  of  what  he  tears  to  pieces,  and  that,  in 
consequence,  after  having  tasted  their  breakfast,  the  four 
consumers  confronting  us  are  entirely  capable  of  coming 
to  continue  their  repast  to  the  detriment  of  our  poor 
servants  and  ourselves.  1  am,  then,  wholly  of  the  opin- 
ion that,  in  place  of  losing  time  in  watching  them  eat, 
which  would  retard  our  progress,  and  detain  us  beyond 
reason  in  these  manifestly  unhealthy  parts,  we  should 
interrupt  this  feast  by  one  good  handsome  fusillade,  which 
will  procure  us  four  superb  skins,  while  giving  us  the 
freedom  of  the  neighborhood.  Furthermore,  our  sixteen 
cattle  are  worth  the  trouble  with  which  we  have 
obtained  them.  They  will  furnish  us  a  superabundance 
of  that  roast  beef  of  which  Mr.  Weldon  so  generously 
offered  me  his  share,  and  which  had  just  missed  costing 
us  so  dear." 

The  young  American  took  the  raillery  gayly. 

''Major,"  he  said,  "1  have  learned  the  lesson  so 
much  the  better  for  having  paid  for  it."  And,  turning 
toward  Merrien,  he  added  with  a  charming  smile  : 

''Monsieur  le  Fraufais,  your  inimitable  La  Fontaine 
has  written  a  fable  that  1  may  apply  to  myself.  1  have 
just  proven  this  truth  at  my  own  expense,  that  one 
must  never  sell  buffalo  fillet  before  the  animal  is  down." 

Having  made  this  witty  observation,  he  seized  his 
rifle,  and  urging  his  companions  on,  "  Forward,  gentle- 
men ! "  he  cried,  "it  shall  not   be   said,  surely,  that   we 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  83 

have  shot  these  charming  animals  from  the  height  of 
a  block-house.  On  foot,  face  to  face,  and  each  for  the 
honor  of  his  native  land." 

He  said  no  more,  and,  without  giving  his  companions 
time  to  make  any  comment,  he  threw  himself  out  of 
the  wagon,  rifle  in  hand  ;  Merrien,  Plumptre,  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor,  Graec'h  the  Breton,  followed  him  immediately 
in  spite  of  the  danger  of  the  adventure. 

The  tigers,  warned  by  the  noise,  rose,  abandoning 
their  prey.  They  had  scented  the  presence  of  man,  king 
of  creation,  conqueror  of  plagues  and  monsters.  With 
bloody  mouths  and  flaming  eyes,  they  paused  to  defend 
themselves,  and  to  attack,  if  necessary. 

Cecil  Weldon,  always  imprudent,  marched  resolutely/ 
toward  the  one  nearest  him,  the  one  vanquished  by  the 
male  buffaloes,  but  vanquisher  of  the  female  buffalo. 
At  the  very  moment  when  the  superb  animal,  more 
astonished  than  frightened,  flattened  himself  along  the 
ground,  preparing  for  a  spring,  the  Yankee's  ball  struck 
him  between  the  eyes.  The  beast  did  not  even  stir. 
He  turned  upon  his  side  with  a  swift  convulsion,  and 
died  upon  the  spot.  Then,  instead  of  justifying  their 
reputation  for  boldness,  the  three  other  tigers  gave  a 
growl  of  mingled  fear  and  anger,  and  with  a  backward 
bound  plunged  into  the  underbrush,  where  they  disap- 
peared, followed  by  some  useless  shots. 

As  the  astonished  Europeans  dared  not  believe  their  eyes, 
Goulab  again  came  in  with  his  explanation  of  this  anomaly. 

The  animals  just  encountered  were  certainly  young 
tigers,  having  never  yet  tasted  human  flesh,  and  never 
having  seen  Europeans.  The  noise  of  fire-arms,  the  unex- 
pected apparition  of  unknown  creatures,  had  sufficed  to 
terrify  them.    They  had  fled,  never  to  return. 


84  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

The  explorers  nevertheless  set  rapidly  to  work. 
While  the  Hindus  skinned  the  dead  buffaloes,  detaching 
the  best  bits,  among  which  must  be  counted  the  dorsal 
hump,  Cecil  Weldon,  aided  by  Merrien,  Plumptre,  and 
the  Breton,  took  the  tiger  skin,  a  magnificent  bedside 
rug  for  future  use. 

"A  very  pretty  shot,  truly,"  said  the  Englishman 
with  sincere  admiration.  ''You  fired  like  a  hunter  of  the 
first  order,  my  young  comrade.  It  is  a  royal  shot,  and 
if  there  is  a  paradise  for  tigers,  this  one  must  bless 
you  for  having  hurried  him  into  it  without  suffering, 
according  him  a  hero's  death  :  right  between  the  eyes  I 
Ah,  well  !"  he  added,  a  little  spitefully,  ''the  luck  is  all 
on  your  side.  Since  the  beginning  of  our  trip,  all  the 
brilliant  shots  have  fallen  to  you.  You  have  just 
brought  down  a  tiger — a  true  tiger— while  1,  an  old 
professional  hunter,  can  only  boast  of  a  miserable 
Chita." 

He  said  that  with  a  grimace,  making  his  tongue 
clack  with  an  expression  that  sent  the  other  travelers  into 
shouts  of  laughter. 

"You  will  soon  take  your  revenge,  my  dear  major," 
replied  Weldon  lightly. 

"I  hope  so  indeed,  young  man.  Without  that  hope, 
I  believe  1  should  leave  you  all  in  the  lurch  to  seek 
good  fortune  elsewhere." 

"And  the  sources  of  the  Ganges,  major?  And 
Gaurisankar  ?  " 

"My  dear  friend,"  replied  Plumptre,  "1  repeat  that 
Gaurisankar  can  wait  for  me.  As  to  the  sources  of  the 
Ganges,  they  seem  to  me  to  be  frightfully  well  guarded 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tarai.  It  is  for  us  to  exter- 
minate these  noxious  creatures,  and  then  we  shall  have 


THE  GUARDIANS  OF   THE  HOLY  GANGES.  85 

realized  the  myths  of  Hercules,  Theseus,  and  Belerophon, 
slayers  of  monsters." 

This  dialogue  did  not  hinder  their  departure  at  a  later 
hour.  The  plans  and  itinerary  were  definitely  fixed  ; 
they  would  make  no  more  halts  before  getting  out  of 
the  forest,  at  least  unless  the  difficulties,  of  the  journey 
obliged  them  to  encamp  for  the  night.  The  major  part 
of  the  company,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  Scotchman, 
wished  to  have  done  with  the  dangerous  gloom  of  Tarai 
as  soon  as  possible.  They  would  have  all  the  leisure  for 
hunting  that  they  desired  when  they  had  cleared  the 
Nepal  frontier. 

Their  progress  was  thus  accomplished  without  relax- 
ation or  respite.  Fortunately  the  boundaries  of  the 
wooded  lands  were  near  at  hand,  and  the  only  difficulty 
upon  which  it  was  necessary  henceforth  to  count  was 
the  painful  ascent  of  the  first  slopes  of  the  Himalayas. 
These  were  perceived  immediately  upon  their  arrival  at. 
Kedarnath.  Of  the  seventy  thousand  pilgrims  who  come 
every  year  as  far  as  Hardwar,  barely  three  thousand 
have  undertaken  to  finish  the  sacred  ■  journey  ;  more 
than  two  thousand  remained  this  side  of  Badarinath  ; 
certainly  not  more  than  a  fiftieth  would  continue  tO' 
Gangotri.  But  the  ascent  of  the  lower  ranges  sud- 
denly became  very  rough.  A  new  council  was  neces- 
sary. In  fact,  the  cattle  wagons  were  of  no  further  use. 
The  travelers  then  paid  their  drivers  and  dismissed 
them.  Furthermore,  an  accident  diminished  their  num- 
ber by  depriving  them  of  one  of  their  companions. 
Captain  MacKinnon  had  so  serious  a  fall  that  he  broke 
his  right  leg,  and  was  constrained  to  remain  at  the 
dak-bungalow  at  Kedarnath.  He  bade  adieu  to  the  rest 
of  the  company,  and  decided  to  wait   in  the  care  of  his. 


86 


THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 


Indian  servant  until  the  removal  of  the  splints  adjusted 
by  Dr.  MacGregor  should  permit  him  to  return  to 
MasLiri  and  Simla. 

The  travelers  had  thus  suffered  three  losses  in  less 
than  ten  days  :  that  of  the  Hindu  Gourap-Sing,  dead 
from  the  bite  of  the  daboias ;  of  Captain  MacKinnon, 
invalided  by  the  fracture  of  his  leg,  and  of  his  servant. 
Their  number  nov/  consisted  of  nine  whites  and  eight 
natives,  among  whom  was  the  poor  devil  who  had 
escaped  death  from  the  mortal  embrace  of  the  python, 
and  who  had  been  so  valiantly  rescued  by  the  ax  of 
Euzen  Graec'h. 


''^^i^0^£f^^^^M> 


THE    BOHEMIANS    HAD    IN     IHEIK   TKAliN    AM    IMMENSE   FLOCK    OK    SHEEP. 


no    cause    for 


join    the 
meet    on 


first 
the 


VI. 

THE  SACRED  RIVER. 

The  company  of  tourists  still  comprised  eighteen 
men,  counting  the  guide  Ramu,  whose  conduct,  since 
the  incident  of  the  forest,  had  given 
criticism  or  even  for  suspicion. 

Upon  his  advice  they  decided  to 
group  of  pilgrims  whom  they  should 
mountain. 

This  first  group  of  fifty-five    people, 
were  women,  was  not  long  in  appearing, 
encounter,  which  was  moreover  full   of  reserve,  Merrien 
believed  that  he  observed  a  shadow  on  Goulab's  brow. 

This  time  the  Frenchman  did  not  care  to  keep  silence, 
and  hastened  to  question  his  servant.  The  shikari,  as 
prudent  as  he  was  upright,  but  moderate  in  his  expres- 
sions, only  revealed  a  part  of  his  apprehensions. 

87 


two   of  whom 
From  the  first 


88  THE  LAND   OF   TAiVNY  BEASTS. 

*' Sahib,"  said  he,  ''I  would  not  wish  to  alarm  your 
mind  with  chimerical  fears.  But  1  do  not  hesitate  to 
tell  you  that  it  will  be  henceforth  necessary  to  take 
great  precautions.  Many  disquieting  things  have  takeni 
place,  and  are  still  taking  place  around  us." 

Then  he  explained  to  the  young  explorer  that  he 
had  found  the  incident  of  the  forest  in  which  the 
unfortunate  Gourap-Sing  had  met  his  death,  a  very 
strange  one — the  simultaneous  appearance  of  serpents 
that  are  never  found  together.  It  was  on  this  very 
account  that  he  had  recommended  to  Merrien  to  have 
the  wounded  man  questioned  by  Dr.  MacGregor.  This 
insistence  on  the  part  of  the  shikari  decided  Jean  to 
confer  anew  with  the  physician.  The  latter  profited  by 
an  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  wounded  man, 
still  stretched  out  in  one  of  the  mule-wagons,  to  ques- 
tion him.  The  man's  response  confirmed  Goulab's 
statement,  and  increased  their  suspicions.  He  recounted 
that  at  the  time  he  had  been  surprised  by  the  boa 
he  was  in  the  company  of  Gourap-Sing.  The  Dogra 
guide  who  was  with  them  at  first  had  separated  from 
them  for  a  moment.  The  two  men  advanced  without 
suspicion,  and  were  suddenly  surprised  to  hear,  some  dis- 
tance off,  soft  notes  like  those  that  the  snake-charmers 
draw  from  the  reed  flutes  that  they  carry  with  them,  and 
it  was  while  they  were  seeking  to  divine  the  origin  of 
this  melody  in  this  desert  place,  that  they  were  attacked 
by  these  reptiles. 

The  words  of  the  wounded  man  explained  to  Merrien 
the  meaning  of  the  raillery  that  Goulab  had  addressed  to 
Ramu  in  joking  him  about  the  reed  with  which  he  was 
furnished  :  ''  excellent  to  cut  serpents  with."  The  shikari, 
without  going  so  far  as  to  accuse  the  guide  formally,. 


THE  SACRED   Rl^ER.  89 

suspected  him  of  not  being  unconnected  with  the 
appearance  of  the  venomous  creatures.  To  the  direct 
question  that  the  traveler  put  to  iiim,  the  faithful 
Hindu  responded  very  clearly  this  time  that  such  indeed 
was  his  thought. 

By  mutual  agreement  they  decided  not  to  let  their 
suspicions  be  perceived.  Prudence  itself  counseled  this 
determination,  for  they  had  just  quitted  the  beaten  track 
which,  in  spite  of  its  defects,  had  permitted  up  to  that 
time  a  sufficiently  rapid  ascent  of  the  cliffs.  They  had 
before  them  now  only  extremely  steep  paths  on  which 
the  mules  and  asses,  the  only  beasts  of  burden  that 
one  could  utilize  in  such  regions,  could  scarcely  keep 
their  footing.  Here  and  there  gorges  appeared,  announc- 
ing still  narrower  defiles  and  more  frightful  diises. 
The  road  was  hidden  between  enormous  perpendicular 
walls  overhanging  the  way,  from  the  height  of  which  a 
handful  of  men  would  have  sufficed  to  destroy  an  army. 
Then  the  passage  widened,  the  road  became  practicable 
again,  and,  the  difficult  point  passed,  they  breathed  easily 
once  more,  still  trembling  with  the  terrors  which  had 
excited  the  imagination  so  violently  impressed  by  the 
grand  and  terrible  picture  of  the  abysses  skirted  and  the 
dangers  escaped. 

Each  step  which  the  tourists  took  brought  them 
nearer  to  the  sanctuary  of  the  Brahman  worship.  Was 
it  not  in  these  savage  places  that  the  divine  Ganges 
was  born  from  springs  flowing  direct  from  heaven  ? 
Was  it  not  here  that  the  three  streams  of  water  which 
contend  for  precedence,  the  Baghirathi,  the  Mundakni, 
and  the  Ram-Ganga,  run  nearly  parallel,  tempestuous 
streams  before  their  currents  unite  beyond  the  Tarai  in 
mighty  confluents,  such  as  Hardwar  and  Almora? 


90  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Already  the  travelers  discerned  on  the  horizon  the 
high  terraces  where  stand  the  temple  of  Gangotri  and 
its  convents  of  Brahmans  at  three  thousand  meters'  alti- 
tude. Beyond,  the  cleft  rocks  scaled  the  sky,  and  the 
somber  and  lofty  sides  of  the  gorges  of  Nilang  were 
visible,  from  which  Baghirathi,  together  with  its  first 
tributary,  the  Jahnavi,  sprang. 

It  was  necessary  to  ascend  to  that  point  if  one 
wished  to  see  the  cradle  of  the  divine  river  born  under 
the  trident  of  Siva,  under  the  five  peaks  of  the  Kailas. 
The  column  ascended  resolutely,  but  the  increasing 
obstacles  had  already  caused  some  of  the  Hindu  pil- 
grims to  retreat.  At  the  entrance  to  the  first  ravine  five 
hundred  of  them  could  barely  drag  themselves  painfully 
along  the  rough  road,  which  was  full  of  cracks  as  sharp  and 
cutting  as  the  points  of  a  hunter's  trap.  The  feet  of  the 
unfortunate  people  were  bleeding,  and  they  were  shaken 
by  violent  chills  whenever  at  nightfall,  after  the  torrid 
rays  of  the  sun  upon  the  bare  rocks,  the  mountain 
wind  came  to  freeze  their  limbs  shivering  under  their 
dhotis  of  cotton  cloth,  white  or  striped  with  gay  colors. 

Such,  however,  was  the  power  of  belief,  the  sway  of 
religious  sentiment,  that  the  exhausted  troop  pursued  the 
pilgrimage  to  them  the  most  hallowing  of  all.  They  had 
come  from  all  parts  of  India,  these  ''  Faithful  of  the  God 
Yama,"  "the  guide  of  death,"  these  anivarttiiu,  or 
"travelers  who  do  not  turn  back."  And  when  they 
should  have  attained  the  summit,  when  they  should  have 
kissed  the  holy  stones  of  Gangotri,  how  many  would  die 
on  the  banks  of  the  Baghirathi  of  destitution  and  exhaus- 
tion ;  happy,  however,  to  enter  into  immortality  on  the 
very  threshold  of  the  divinity. 

The  spectacle  was  calculated  to  touch   feeling  hearts. 


THE  SACRED  RIl^ER.  91 

Of  all  the  Europeans  who  followed  that  steep  ascent,  and 
scandalized  the  zealots  by  the  presence  of  their  mules, 
as  if  one  had  any  right  to  ascend  to  God's  sanctuary 
by  the  aid  of  animals,  Cecil  Weldon  appeared  the  most 
moved.  A  number  of  times,  constrained  by  pity,  he  had 
offered  the  unfortunate  pilgrims  the  relief  of  the  supplies 
that  the  white  men  carried  with  them.  Generally  he 
was  met  with  refusal  by  the  devotees,  who  practiced  a 
more  rigorous  fast  in  proportion  as  they  approached 
nearer  to  the  temple.  Nevertheless,  he  had  been  fortu- 
nate enough  to  be  able  to  succor  and  relieve  some  of 
the  miserable  creatures  falling  from  starvation  by  the  way. 
At  other  times,  aided  by  his  companions,  who  were 
won  over  by  the  example  of  his  generosity,  he  had 
made  a  part  of  the  journey  on  foot,  after  putting  those 
who  were  sickest  on  mule-back. 

At  the  same  time  that  unfavorable  suspicions  of  the 
Rajput  guide  sprang  up  in  Jean  Merrien's  mind,  doubts 
of  an  entirely  different  nature  concerning  his  young 
American  companion  haunted  him. 

On  many  occasions  he  had  been^  struck  by  the 
extreme  reserve  of  this  young  man,  by  his  modesty, 
his  bashfulness  even,  which  had  sometimes  seemed 
exaggerated  even  to  the  major,  a  rigid  Puritan  in  spite 
of  his  soldierly  license. 

Cecil  Weldon  had  never  consented  to  share  a  room 
occupied  by  others  of  the  travelers.  Moreover,  Cecil  had 
a  very  strange  aspect  for  a  man.  In  spite  of  the  energy 
and  courage  of  which  he  had  always  given  proof,  his 
constitution  was  frail  and  delicate.  His  voice  was  too 
sweet,  his  skin  too  fine  for  a  man,  and  the  beauty  of 
his  features  would  have  been  remarked  even  had  he 
been  in  woman's  dress. 


92  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Merrien  could  not  refrain  from  suspicions  analogous  to 
those  which  had  brought  upon  the  worthy  Jackson,  land- 
lord of  the  Great  Tower  Inn  at  Srinagar,  the  vehement 
objurgations  of  Mrs.  Jackson,  his  spouse. 

The  ascent  became  more  and  more  painful.  On  reach- 
ing the  high  village  of  Ahosinath,  the  explorers  esti- 
mated that  a  hundred  pilgrims  at  the  most  followed  the 
road  to  Gangotri  in  their  company.  Merrien  noticed  that 
the  face  of  Goulab,  which  had  been  very  solemn  up  to 
this  time,  brightened.     He  questioned  him. 

''Sahib,"  responded  the  shikari,  *M  will  not  conceal 
from  you  that  1  was  very  anxious.  The  major  part  of 
these  people  were  devotees  of  Siva  and  of  Kali.  Happily 
the  fatigue  of  the  journey  has  discouraged  many  of  them, 
and  now  a  large  proportion  of  those  who  will  keep  on  are 
of  the  same  religion  as  myself,  the  faithful  of  Vishnu,  the 
preserver.  Nevertheless,  my  fears  are  not  all  dissipated, 
and  we  will  do  well  to  redouble  our  caution  ;  above  all 
when  we   shall  be  within  some  miles  of  the  sanctuary." 

Following  the  advice  that  he  had  received  from  his 
faithful  servant,  Merrien  gathered  together  his  com- 
panions and  informed  them  of  his  misgivings.  They, 
then,  accepted  the  part  of  prudence,  and  as  the  mules 
themselves  seemed  to  refuse  to  travel  by  night,  they 
raised  the  tents  of  their  camp  under  the  starry  skies 
of  the  Himalayas. 

Cecil  Weldon's  attitude  still  gave  the  Frenchman 
food  for  reflection.  The  Yankee  isolated  himself  entirely 
from  the  rest  of  the  troop,  and  appeared  disagreeably 
surprised  that  they  had  not  waited  to  gain  some  village 
of  the  mountains  before  making  a  halt.  There,  miser- 
able though  the  huts  might  be,  he  would  have  been 
able  to  undress,  and  taste  repose. 


THE  SACRED  RIFER.  93 

But  this  was  only  a  beginning  of  the  fatigues  and 
troubles  inherent  to  all  enterprises  of  this  kind. 

So  remarked  Major  Plumptre,  who  joked  the  American 
with  some  liveliness. 

''My  dear  Weldon,  what  will  you  say,  then,  when 
we  get  into  the  upper  ravines  ?  Though  you  are  as 
brave  as  anyone,  your  education  leaves  something  to  be 
desired  for  an  explorer.    You  are  as  soft  as  a  woman." 

"Major,"  retorted  Cecil  quickly  enough,  "\  confess 
my  weakness  for  sleep,  which  is  indispensable  to  my 
nature,  and  1  reserve  my  epigrams  until  the  Right 
Honorable  Plumptre  shall  be  constrained  to  make  but 
one  meal  a  day." 

The  officer  took  this  retort  in  very  good  part.  He 
burst  out  laughing  as  he  replied  : 

''Then,  my  good  fellow,  1  shall  not  have  occasion 
to  applaud  your  spirit  of  raillery.  Keep  this  in  your 
mind  :  Major  Plumptre  is  a  mortal  like  other  human 
beings,  but  with  the  protection  of  God,  and  the  aid  of 
his  rifle,  he  will  always  find  enough  to  eat  were  it  in 
the  very  domains  of  the  devil,  and  as  1  ,was  born  gener- 
ous this  will  be  a  guarantee  to  you  that  you  will 
never  suffer  hunger." 

"  In  that  case,  my  dear  major,"  cried  the  other,  in 
the  same  tone,  "  I  am  entirely  reassured.  Eating  when 
hungry  I  shall  sleep  my  full,  if  it  be  only  during  the 
leisure  that  you  afford  me  in  provisioning  the  larder." 

This  exchange  of  repartee  enlivened  the  evening. 
Then  they  snatched  a  little  slumber  during  the  latter 
hours  of  the  night. 

Alas !  when  morning  dawned  a  double  catastrophe 
appalled  the  travelers.  The  Hindu  who  had  escaped 
from  the  embrace  of  the  boa  had  been  able  to  regain  his 


94  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

strength,  thanks  to  the  intelligent  care  of  Dr.  MacGregor. 
The  wounds  which  the  bite  of  the  terrible  ophidian  had 
left  were  closed,  and  in  a  fair  way  to  heal,  so  that  the 
poor  boy  had  been  able  to  continue  following  on  mule- 
back  the  Englishman  by  whom  his  services  were 
engaged. 

But  it  happened  that  morning  as  they  folded  the 
tents  for  departure  the  little  Madrasi  came  running, 
terror  depicted  upon  his  face,  to  announce  to  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor that  Ali,  the  name  of  the  wounded  man,  who 
was  a  Mussulman,  writhed  upon  his  couch,  a  prey  to 
intolerable  agony,  and  that  his  wounds  had  opened  again 
and  presented  an  ugly  aspect.  The  child's  eyes  filled 
with  tears  while  relating  this. 

Everyone  ran  to  the  tent  where  Ali  lay.  They  found 
him  dying,  shaken  by  convulsive  movements,  foam  com- 
ing out  of  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  and  green  and 
fetid  pus  showing  from  the  wounds  left  by  the  teeth  of 
the  python.  It  was  manifest  that  the  sick  man  had  grown 
worse  suddenly,  and  this  in  contradiction  to  the  opti- 
mistic expectation  of  the  doctor.  The  latter  could  not 
refrain  from  a  grimace  on  seeing  the  wounded  man. 

"There  is  nothing  to  do,"  he  said  to  his  com- 
panions. ''We  are  in  the  presence  of  a  disease  as 
grave  as  it  is  rare  —  of  spontaneous  septicaemia.  The 
man  is  lost.     It  is  a  purulent  general  infection." 

Goulab  also  had  bent  his  brows.  He  contented 
himself  with  saying  to  the  physician  : 

"This  man  has  been  poisoned  during  the  night." 

"Hey!"  cried  Dr.  MacGregor,  "what  do  you 
say  ?  " 

"  1  say,"  replied  the  shikari,  very  positively  this 
time,  "that    a    criminal    hand    has    poured    upon    such 


THE  SACRED  RIFER.  95 

wounds    of    this    unfortunate    man    as    remained    open 
some  of  the  tincture  of  euphorbia." 

'Ms  it  possible?"  questioned  the  doctor.  "  But  then 
who  is  the  criminal,  do  you  think  ?  " 

The  shikari  extended  his  right  hand  with  solemnity, 
and  placing  his  left  upon  his  heart,  said  : 

*'The  Mahadera  knows  that  1  never  accused  one 
of  my  brothers  vainly,  but  1  accuse  of  this  murder, 
and  of  Gourap-Sing's,  Ramu  your  guide,  the  Rajput 
Dogra." 

A  shiver  ran  over  all  present.  Plumptre  seized  his 
rifle  with  fury. 

''Ah  !  the  rascal!"  roared  he.  "1  will  kill  him  like  a 
dog ! " 

'Mf  you  find  him,"  said  Goulab,  shaking  his  head 
ironically.  "I  have  sinned  through  prudence,  sahibs;  1 
should  have  spoken  yesterday.  The  assassin  should 
have  been  gotten  rid  of  yesterday." 

"Truly,  Goulab,"  agreed  the  doctor,  "you  have  been 
too  reticent." 

They  were  not  long  in  deciding  upon  their  plan  of 
campaign.  It  was  necessary  to  overtake  the  murderer 
as  soon  as  possible.  He  must  be  with  the  pilgrims, 
and  they  were  a  whole  night  in   advance. 

They  set  out  immediately  when  they  had  decided 
that  the  unfortunate  Ali  was  lost,  and  that  Ramu  had 
deserted  his  post  of  guide.  A  tribe  of  nomadic  Ban- 
jaras  engaged,  in  consideration  of  a  compensation,  to 
take  to  Hardwc'ir  the  body  of  the  poor  Mohammedan 
who  had  begged  earnestly  to  be  delivered  to  his  breth- 
ren. His  last  prayer  was  granted.  The  Bohemians  had 
with  them  an  immense  flock  of  sheep  which  had 
come  down    from    Tibet,   as    well    as    planks    of   teak- 


96  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

wood  and  pine  all  ready  for  the  southern  industry. 
Four  of  these  planks  sufficed  to  furnish  Ali  with  his 
last  vehicle,  and  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  the  Europeans 
bade  adieu  to  the  body  of  their  unfortunate  servant. 

But  then  came  a  fresh  torture,  and  a  new  cause  for 
grief  and  indignation.  They  counted  one  member  too 
few  in  the  column  :  the  little  Madrasi  who  was  attached 
to  Cecil  Weldon  had  disappeared. 

''Ah  !  the  unhappy  boy!"  cried  the  young  American, 
whose  eyes  filled  with  tears.  'Mf  they  only  have  not 
killed  him  also !  This  Dogra  deserves  no  pity,  if  we 
find  him  again  ! " 

It  was  difficult  to  repress  the  exasperation  of  the 
different  members  of  the  little  troop ;  and  if  the  infamous 
Ramu  had  fallen  into  their  hands  at  that  moment, 
*'they  would  not  have  left  him  to  languish,"  in  the 
picturesque  language  of  Euzen  Graec'h. 

''As  for  me,"  cried  the  Breton,  "I  only  ask  to 
have  him  for  a  moment  in  my  hands.  And  I  should 
have  no  need  of  arms  to  do  the  business  for  him,"  he 
added,  with  a  movement  full  of  expression. 

There  were,  then,  two  new  gaps  in  the  ranks  of  the 
little  column.  There  were  but  eight  members  left.  It 
was  necessary  to  redouble  their  vigilance,  and,  especially 
since  they  had  entered  the  bad  passes  of  the  mountain, 
to  manage  to  keep  elbow  to  elbow,  in  order  that  each 
of  the  explorers  should  be  security  for  his  companions. 

But  just  as  they  were  about  to  enter  the  high  closes 
of  the  water  courses,  young  Cecil  Weldon  assembled  his 
companions  of  the  journey  and  made  them  a  confession 
which,  stupefying  as  it  was,  did  not  astonish  them. 
They  had  had  a  presentiment  of  it. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  young  traveler,  with   blushing 


THE  SACRED  RIFER.  gy 

confusion,  ''I  owe  you  a  confession,  and  I  have  a  request 
to  make  of  you." 

''A  request?"  cried  Plumptre  gallantly.  "Let  us  call 
it  granted  in  advance." 

''Bah!"  replied  Cecil,  with  a  mischievous  grimace, 
"'you  don't  know  what  you  are  bargaining  for, 
major." 

And  before   the    officer   could    protest,    the    American 
explained  himself  clearly  : 

"The  request  that  1  make  of  you  all  without  dis- 
tinction, gentlemen,  for  you  are  all  my  friends,  is  a  little 
cruel.  If  our  expedition  should  incur  too  formidable 
trials,  if  we  should  be  exposed  to  dangers  which  left 
us  no  resource,  no  hope,  swear  to  me  that  the  last 
survivor  among  you  will  kill  me,  if  I  have  not  pre- 
ceded him  in  death." 

"Oh!  oh!"  said  Dr.  MacGregor,  smiling,  "  that  is 
indeed  a  strange  request,  young  man,  and  you  were 
right  just  now  in  reproaching  Plumptre  for  pledging 
himself  too  rashly." 

"  During  the  crusade  of  St.  Louis  in  Egypt,"  said 
Merrien  gravely,  "the  Queen  of  France,  a  prisoner  of 
the  infidels,  exacted  a  similar  promise  from  the  old 
chevalier  appointed  for  her  defense." 

The  young  American  wore  a  melancholy  smile.  Then 
he  said,  with  great  sweetness  : 

"It  is  for  the  same  reason,  gentlemen,  that  I  entreat 
you.  1  am  a  woman,  but  for  others  than  you  1  must 
always  be  Cecil,  not  Cicely  Weldon." 

All  bowed  respectfully  before  the  intrepid  young 
girl,  and  Merrien  added,  with  a  kind  of  gayety  : 

"That  is  all  right,  miss.  But  calm  yourself:  all  the 
Dogras,  all  the   Rajputs,  all  the    Sivaites    in  the    world 


98  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

cannot  prevent  people  like  ourselves  from  bringing  their 
enterprise  to  a  fortunate  conclusion." 

And,  though  a  little  embarrassed  by  this  secret,  the 
brave  men  did  not  permit  themselves  to  show  the 
feeling. 

All  precautions  had  now  been  taken.  The  column 
divided  itself  into  three  groups :  a  vanguard,  the  body 
of  the  troop,  and  the  rear  guard. 

Merrien,  Graec'h,  Plumptre,  and  the  doctor,  and  one 
of  the  Americans  in  rotation,  and  the  f^iithful  Goulab 
relieved  one  another  at  the  difficult  posts,  that  is  to 
say,  at  the  head  and  at  the  rear  of  the  procession. 

Thirty  kilometers  from  Gangotri,  at  the  last  bungalow 
established  by  the  English  company,  the  travelers  were 
constrained  to  part  with  their  animals.  They  must 
henceforth  depend  upon  themselves  to  overcome  all 
obstacles.  These  were  numerous  and  varied.  Never  in 
the  entire  universe  was  a  pilgrimage  made  more  deserv- 
ing of  credit  than  that  of  the  faithful  Brahman  to  the 
cradle  of  the  divine  Ganga. 

There  were  at  every  step  frightful  precipices  five 
hundred  and  six  hundred  meters  in  height,  opening 
from  the  edges  of  the  bad  road  clinging  en  corniche 
to  the  buttresses  of  the  prodigious  chain  ;  plateaus 
calcined  by  the  sun  by  day,  and  swept  by  night  by 
the  sharp  wind  from  the  snowy  regions ;  and  valleys 
so  deep  and  so  narrow  that  daylight  scarcely  ever 
penetrates  to  them. 

Finally,  after  a  day  of  unspeakable  effort,  the  column 
arrived  at  the  holy  place.  As  they  had  no  concern 
with  the  neighborhood  of  the  Brahman  convent  which 
surrounds  the  middle  pagoda,  they  at  once  took  the  most 
frequented  way,  that  on  which  they   were  sure  to   find 


THE  SACRED  RI^ER.  99 

the  greatest  number  of  pilgrims  of  the  two  orders  of 
Vishnu  and  Siva. 

It  was  natural  that  a  pious  man  like  Goulab  should 
profit  by  the  opportunity  which  was  offered  him  of 
sanctifying  himself  by  contact  with  the  sacred  spring. 
So  he  solicited  and  obtained  permission  from  his  com- 
panions to  accomplish  the  prescriptions  of  the  religious 
law,  which  orders  the  ceremonial  of  the  pilgrimages  with 
great  particularity. 

They  had  arrived  at  the  boundary  of  the  consecrated 
territory  at  the  confluence  of  the  Baghirathi  and  the 
Jahnavi. 

The  shikari  completely  divested  himself  of  his  clothes, 
and  took  his  place  in  a  line  of  some  forty  Hindus  as 
naked  as  himself.  One  after  another,  each  of  the  men 
plunged  into  the  swift,  icy  waters  of  the  river,  and  came 
out  shivering.  On  the  bank  a  Brahman  clad  in  white, 
attended  by  two  children  filling  the  office  of  acolytes, 
murmured  a  benediction  upon  the  heads  of  the  purified. 
Then  the  latter,  before  dressing  themselves  again,  received 
from  one  of  the  children  a  sheaf  of  flowers  and  fragrant 
herbs,  rich  in  color,  which  they  threw  into  the  current  of 
the  river,  after  which  the  Brahman,  with  a  new  formula, 
took  from  a  little  basket  carried  by  the  other  child 
an  oval  biscuit,  and  gave  it  to  the  penitent,  who,  fast- 
ing and  exhausted  in  all  probability,  made  haste  to  bite 
into  it  vigorously. 

The  shikari  complied  with  all  these  forms  with  the 
rigorous  piety  that  characterizes  the  people  of  the 
Orient.  But  the  prescriptions  did  not  stop  there. 
From  the  sacred  confluent  to  the  sanctuary  the  distance 
was  not  excessive.  On  the  other  hand  the  road 
bristled  with  difficulties  of  every  kind,  and  even   though 


lOO  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

having  no  concern  with  the  religious  exercises,  the 
European  travelers  were  none  the  less  subjected  to  the 
same  trials. 

For  henceforth  the  word  ''road"  could  be  used 
only  in  antiphrasis.  It  was  an  irony  which  mocked 
the  energy  of  the  explorers  at  every  step,  threatening, 
even,  to  discourage  them.  So  that  Graec'h  the  Breton, 
a  seaman,  and  used  to  scaling  the  yards,  could  not 
help  thinking  the  mountains  fatiguing. 

''If  it  is  like  this  at  the  beginning,  before  coming  to 
the  real  climbing,  what  will  it  be  when  we  are  on 
Gaurisankar  ?  " 

"Bah!"  retorted  Merrien  gayly,  "when  we  are  on 
Gaurisankar,  we  shall  only  have  a  thousand  or  fifteen 
hundred  meters  more  to  climb.  Ibi-Gamin,  which  we 
can  see  from  here,  is  very  nearly  eight  kilometers  in 
the  air.  We  shall  long  before  have  acquired  the  habit 
of  ascent." 

"There  is  still  another  habit  which  one  acquires 
even  more  easily,"  joked  the  Breton,  "it  is  that  of 
dying." 

While  Goulab  lifted  himself  by  the  strength  of  his 
wrists  from  rock  to  rock  until  he  reached  the  level  of 
the  sanctuary  which  covers  the  spring  of  the  Baghi- 
rathi-Ganga,  his  European  companions  resolutely  entered 
the  frightful  gorge  where  the  holy  river  falls  tempestu- 
ously in  cascade  after  cascade. 

A  perpendicular  wall,  three  hundred  meters  in  height, 
rose  before  them.  They  were  barely  able  to  climb  the 
first  terrace  with  the  aid  of  some  steps  cut  in  the 
wall. 

Above  that,  a  frightful  staircase  presented  itself, 
formed  of  shelves    of   iron    sunk    in    the    perpendicular 


THE  SACRED  RIl^ER.  lor 

wall  at  a  distance  of  about  a  foot  one  from  the  other. 
It  was  by  this  dizzy  ladder  that  the  travelers  must 
attain  to  the  upper  platform. 

At  sight  of  this  unexpected  difficulty,  young  Weldon, 
or  rather  Miss  Cicely  Weldon,  since  she  was  hence- 
forth known  to  her  companions  by  her  true  name, 
could  not  repress  a  shudder  of  fear. 

One  may  perhaps  brave  man  and  beast,  and  look 
calmly  upon  the  most  cruel  death,  but  here  one  was 
in  the  presence  of  another  kind  of  danger,  a  trial 
directed  to  man's  physical  resistance,  and  to  which  the 
nervous  system  of  a  woman,  especially,  must  offer  still  less 
resistance.  Everything  contributed  to  terrify  the  eyes  and 
to  disturb  the  sang-froid  indispensable  at  such  moments, 
and  the  fear  of  vertigo  was  added  to  the  horror  of  the 
place.  One  could  not,  however,  pause  by  the  way.  It 
was  necessary,  at  any  cost,  to  get  out  of  the  terrible  cluse. 

As  a  measure  of  prudence  they  decided  that  the  Hin- 
dus should  go  first  in  the  ascent.  But  this  produced  an 
unexpected  defection. 

Of  the  seven  natives  who  had  remained  with  the 
travelers,  four  were  men  of  the  plains,  whose  good  will 
and  devotion  had  been  already  seriously  shaken  by  the 
difficulties  of  the  ascent.  This  last  test  found  them  insen- 
sible to  all  exhortations,  to  all  promises  of  remuneration. 
They  absolutely  refused  to  carry  the  experience  any 
further.  Merrien  and  Plumptre  did  not,  however,  insist 
beyond  reason.  When  the  poor  devils  were  brought  to 
the  foot  of  this  ''monkey-ladder,"  as  Graec'h  called  it, 
they  were  seized  with  violent  trembling,  their  teeth 
chattered,  their  legs  failed  them.  It  was  manifest  that 
the  poor  creatures  could  not  climb  fifty  meters  without 
accident. 


I02  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Unde-  such  conditions,  humanity  as  well  as  prudence 
obliged  the  explorers  to  dismiss  these  useless  and  even 
embarrassing  servants. 

Merrien  settled  up  all  accounts,  and  each  of  the 
behras  came  in  turn  to  kiss  the  feet  of  the  masters  whom 
they  had  so  poorly  seconded.  It  was  apparent,  neverthe- 
less, that  they  were  ashamed  and  disconsolate  at  their 
faint-heartedness. 

''There  is  as  much  superstition  as  there  is  nervous- 
ness in  their  case,"  said  Dr.  MacGregor.  ''They  are 
persuaded  that  we  are  going  to  our  death,  and  they 
by  no  means  pride  themselves  on  their  heroism.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  above  Gangotri  is  the  '  Mouth  of  the 
Cow,'  to  the  south  of  the  glacier  of  Nilang.  To  the 
west  is  Trikanta,  to  the  east  Nanda-Parvati.  When  we 
arrive  there  we  shall  be  divine  beings  to  some,  abomi- 
nable profaners  to  the  others." 

In  order  not  to  linger  in  these  perilous  gorges,  they 
at  once  undertook  the  scaling  of  the  iron  steps.  The 
two  Hindus  who  had  remained  faithful  went  first. 
Then  Merrien  and  Graec'h  thought  of  a  way  practically 
to  aid  their  group  in  the  weird  ascent.  They  knotted 
about  their  shoulders  two  cords  of  unequal  length,  the 
other  ends  of  which  they  fastened  to  the  shoulders  and 
about  the  body  of  the  young  girl.  That  done,  the  Breton, 
whose  incredible  strength  was  seconded  by  his  habit  of 
climbing  yards,  and  who  feared  no  vertigo,  leaped  in 
his  turn  upon  the  frightful  ladder.  Merrien  followed 
him,  and  Cicely  came  third,  helping  herself  so  ener- 
getically with  her  hands  and  her  feet  that  she  rendered 
the  provisional  aid  of  her  two  companions  unnecessary. 
After  them  came  Dr.  MacGregor  and  the  Americans. 
The  brave  major  brought  up  the  rear. 


CICELY   CAME   THIRD. 


I04  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Fortunately  this  dizzy  staircase  did  not  extend  further 
than  a  hundred  meters.  The  wall  was  again  broken 
away  at  the  summit,  and  natural  notches,  with  sharp 
edges,  gave  easier  foothold. 

Finally  the  upper  plateau  was  reached.  They  had 
before  them  the  slopes  of  the  nearer  ranges,  and  the 
horizon  disclosed  enormous  distances  with  marvelous 
perspectives. 

To  the  south  were  the  valleys  they  had  just  crossed, 
the  Hindu  Tarai ;  to  the  north  the  source  of  the  Ganges, 
appeared  springing  from  the  glaciers  of  the  Kailas. 
To  the  left  stretched  the  vanishing  chain  of  which 
Dehra-Dun,  and  the  Siwalik  mountains  are  only  the  stair- 
ways ;  to  the  right  extended  the  parallel  lines  of  the 
Chiriya-ghati,  gigantic  propylaea  of  the  principal  mass, 
or  rather  of  the  succession  of  the  prodigious  masses 
which  commence  at  Chumalari  on  the  frontiers  of 
Bhutan.  Nepal  was  at  their  feet ;  the  central  Himalayas, 
lay  open  to  their  gaze. 


■  '^^■^-^^g^g^^i^^^!^.!^ 


THE   (iOVERNOR   SENT   TWO   OFFICERS   TO   MEET   THE   TRAVELERS. 


VII. 

THE  DHAULAGIRI. 

The  travelers  were  tliree  days  in  leaching  the  east- 
ern frontiers  above  the  lakes  and  the  English  station  of 
Naini-Tal.  Toward  the  25th  of  March  they  had  passed 
Chakrata,  and  cleared  the  pass  of  Niti-Liti,  at  a  height  of 
more  than  five  thousand  meters.  It  only  remained  to 
them  to  cross  the  two  arms  of  the  ^ogra  and  the  peak 
of  the  goddess  Manda,  before  entering  Nepal. 

The  major  had  not  ceased  grumbling  during  the 
entire  ascent. 

"How  much  better    off    are    we,"  he    said;   ''what 

have  we  gained  by  this  journey  ?    We    are  already  in 

the  midst  of  glaciers  and  snows,  and  we  have   managed 

to  stretch  our  itinerary  to  nearly  double  its   length.     If 

we  had  started  from  Darjiling  we   should   already  be   at 

the  foot  of  Mt.  Everest,  and  we  should  have  had  some 

admirable  hunting." 

105 


io6  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

'\Morbleu! ''   cried    the    doctor,    who    was    fond    of 
French  oaths,    "  haven't  you   hunted    all    you    want  to 
thus    far  ?     You    have     forgotten    the    tigers,   and    the 
buffaloes  of  Garhwal  ?  " 
And  Plumptre  sighed  with  genuine  sadness  : 

'Mt  is  precisely  because  1  remember  .  them  that  1 
regret  them.     What  beautiful  shots  we  are  losing  !  " 

Goulab  the  shikc4ri,  who,  his  rites  being  accomplished, 
had  rejoined  the  travelers  above  Gangotri,  somewhat 
reassured  the  insatiable  hunter  by  informing  him  that 
the  Himalayan  chain  is  the  most  capricious  in  the 
world  ;  that  after  reaching  a  height  of  seven  thousand 
meters,  one  frequently  has  to  descend  again  to  below 
three  thousand,  and  even  to  two  thousand  ;  and  that  at 
each  of  these  descents  game  is  found  again  in  abun- 
dance, more  especially  the  wild  elephant,  and  the  siiil- 
liens;  among  them  the  bahiroussa,  that  wild  and  curious 
animal,  provided  with  four  long  and  broad  tusks,  giving  it 
a  most  terrible  aspect,  but  which  is  less  formidable,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  than  the  wild  boar  of  Europe. 

He  added,  to  give  him  a  final  bit  of  consolation  : 

"As  to  the  tiger,  he  pushes  his  way  to  incredible 
heights,  and  we  can  never  be  certain  that  we  shall  not 
have  to  defend  ourselves  against  him,  even  at  three 
thousand  meters'  altitude.  Be  prepared  for  the  chance 
of  a  surprise." 

With  this  hope,  the  brave  Scotchman  took  his  way 
over  the  mountains.  For  the  rest,  incidents  of  quite 
another  order  were  not  long  in  furnishing  the  explorers 
with  emotions  that  they  were  not  expecting.  When 
they  were  about  to  enter  upon  the  Taklagar  road,  one 
of  the  two  ways  the  gates  of  which  had  been  opened 
to  them  by  the  Nepalisian    permits  accorded  them    by 


THE  DHAULAGIRL  107 

request  of  the  Calcutta  government,  the  travelers 
thought  they  ought  themselves  to  draw  up  a  map  of 
their  explorations. 

They  therefore  assembled  in  council  in  a  village  of' 
the  western  frontier,  about  the  thirtieth  degree  north 
latitude,  and  devoted  an  entire  day  to  resting,  in  order 
to  recover  their  strength,  already  somewhat  tried,  and 
to  make  out  their  itinerary  with  the  most  rigorous 
exactitude.  All  were  compelled  to  contribute,  and  each 
one  brought  to  the  task,  in  addition  to  his  own  intel- 
ligence and  his  personal  opinions,  the  experience  ac- 
quired by  previous  efforts  and  courageous  investigation. 

Dr.  MacGregor  was,  under  these  circumstances,  able 
to  furnish  the  best  advice,  having  already  had  occasion 
upon  a  previous  expedition  to  penetrate  as  far  as  Khat- 
mandu.  He  revealed  to  his  friends  the  result  of  his 
personal  observations,  which,  united  to  notes  made  by 
Merrien  of  the  statements  of  previous  explorers,  sufficed 
for  the  elaboration  of  a  common  plan. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  physician,  /' you  are  not 
ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Nepal  is  an  independent  state, 
very  shut  in,  very  wild,  of  which  we  ourselves  know 
very  little,  in  spite  of  the  presence  of  our  minister  in 
the  very  capital  of  this  state.  It  is  counted  among 
the  number  of  regions  reported  unknown,  and  its  frontier, 
which  is  very  indefinite,  has  no  fixity  except  on  the 
Indian  side,  and  this  in  consequence  of  the  wars  which 
the  British  Government  has  victoriously  sustained  against 
the  wild  and  independent  peoples  of  the  region— notably 
against  the  Gurkhas,  who,  dispossessed  by  us,  after 
bloody  combats,  have  ended  by  adopting  our  hegemony, 
and  furnishing  us  to-day  with  the  best  foot-soldiers  of 
our  Indian  armv. 


io8  THE  LAND  OF  TAWNY  BEASTS. 

''These  limits,  often  moved  back,  make  of  Nepal  a 
long  quadrilateral,  backed,  or  rather  inclosed,  by  the 
double  chain  of  the  Himalayas  and  the  Trans-Himalayas. 
This  quadrilateral  measures  about  seven  hundred  kilo- 
meters, or  four  hundred  miles  in  length  by  a  hundred 
and  twenty-five  kilometers,  or  seventy-two  miles  in 
breadth.  The  sum  of  the  population  contained  within 
these  boundaries  has  never  been  ascertained  exactly, 
and  it  is  quite  at  hazard,  relying  upon  the  declarations 
made  by  the  native  authorities,  that  our  geographers 
estimate  it  sometimes  at  three,  sometimes  at  five 
millions  of  inhabitants.  Such  statistics  are  evidently 
fanciful." 

''Doctor,"  interrupted  Plumptre  abruptly,  "how  does 
that  interest  us  ?  What  we  need  to  know,  in  order  to 
carry  out  our  enterprise,  is  the  road  that  we  are  going 
to  follow,  together  with  the  dangers  or  the  difficulties 
that  it  may  offer,  and  the  means  that  we  shall  have  at 
our  disposal  to  escape  these  dangers  and  overcome  these 
difficulties." 

It  goes  without  saying  that  in  this  respect  MacGregor 
knew  no  more  than  the  common  run  of  mortals.  The 
silence  that  he  maintained,  in  place  of  responding  to 
the  officer's  question,  gave  Merrien  a  chance  to  intervene. 

"  My  dear  major,  we.  have  for  our  enlightenment 
only  the  reports  of  these  travelers  who  have  preceded 
us.  And  these  are  very  incomplete,  since  none  of  them, 
not  one  of  them,  I  say,  has  been  able  to  penetrate  to 
the  heart  of  the  mountains ;  and  thus  far  it  has  been 
necessary  to  hold  to  the  angular  measurements  of  the 
highest  summits  as  made  from  the  plains  of  Hindustan. 
The  mission  that  we  have  voluntarily  assigned  ourselves 
is  all  the    more    glorious    for  that.     We    shall    be    the 


THE  DHAULA'GIRf.  109 

first  among  Europeans,  perhaps  even  among  Indians,  to 
force  the  gates  of  Nepal,  and  approach,  according  to  our 
ability,  the  majestic  summits  that  such  men  as  Adolph 
and  Hermann  Schlagintweit,  and  the  Pandit  Nain-Sing, 
have  been  able  to  contemplate  only  from  a  distance." 

The  Scotchman  responded  in  a  friendly  manner  and 
with  a  gracious  smile : 

''  1  understand  that  very  well,  my  dear  Merrien, 
since  my  intention  has  been  to  accompany  you  in 
your  bold  project.  Yet  it  would  appear  to  me  wise 
and  prudent  should  we  be  advised  of  the  nature  of 
the  obstacles  that  we  shall  encounter." 

"They  will  be  of  various  kinds,"  replied  the  French- 
man. ''But  the  most  obstinate  ones  will  very  cer- 
tainly be  presented  by  the  people  of  these  unknown 
countries.  God  grant  that  we  shall  have  to  come  into 
as  little  contact  with  them  as  possible  !  " 

Then  they  took  the  final  census  of  the  expedition 
and  the  inventory  of  things  indispensable  to  the 
journey. 

Each  man,  and  Cicely  Weldon  figured  as  one,  car- 
ried with  him  a  double-barreled  rifle,  one  of  the  "choke- 
bore  "  barrels  of  which  answered  for  either  shot 
or  bullets ;  three  hundred  cartridges  divided  between 
the  knapsack,  the  cartridge  box,  and  the  belt,  a  six- 
barreled  revolver  of  the  same  caliber,  a  hunting  knife, 
tent-stakes  or  supports,  a  reserve  of  blasting  powder, 
some  ropes  of  hemp  and  copper  thread,  a  pike,  and 
twelve  steel  climbing  spurs.  That  made  enough  of  a 
burden  in  itself.  They  had  to  add  food  supplies  in  the 
smallest  possible  compass  :  two  boxes  of  pemmican  and 
of  Liebig,  one  of  kola  powder,  a  bottle  of  essence  of 
coffee,  and  a  gourd  of  rum. 


no  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Thus  provided,  the  explorers  arranged  for  their  halts. 
The  march  through  the  mountain  region  could  not  be 
estimated  in  figures  based  on  the  average  day's  jour- 
neys over  the  plains.  They  decided,  therefore,  to  make 
twenty  kilometers  a  day  the  desideratum,  and  twelve 
the  minimum,  which  allowed  of  their  reaching  Dhau- 
lagiri  toward  the  loth  or  the  15th  of  April  at  the  latest. 

They  also  inspected  their  foot-gear.  This  plays  an 
important  part  in  the  life  of  mountain  climbers.  The 
travelers  were  provided  with  strong  leather  gaiters,  pjsse 
montjgnes  of  heavy  wool,  jerseys  of  tricot,  and  hunting 
jackets,  soft  woolen  gloves,  a  loose  cloak,  which  could, 
however,  be  held  close  to  the  body  by  means  of  a  belt ; 
these  completed  the  equipment  of  the  valiant  comrades. 

Finally,  as  they  could  not  carry  everything  upon  their 
shoulders,  they  took  pains  to  place  all  the  supplementary 
baggage  on  light  litters  which  they  were  obliged  to 
carry,  two  and  two,  by  means  of  straps  passed  over  the 
neck  of  each  bearer.  It  was  decided  that  they  should 
relieve  one  another  from  hour  to  hour  of  the  drudgery 
of  this  carriage. 

Through  a  sentiment  of  gallantry  that  was  altogether 
French,  Merrien  proposed  to  exempt  Miss  Weldon  from 
all  drudgery,  and  all  especially  heavy  burdens.  The 
plucky  young  girl  refused  to  accept  this  indulgence, 
which  humiliated  her.  She  did  not  in  the  least  consent 
to  leave  to  her  friends  all  that  concerned  the  material 
cares  of  existence. 

Each  day,  at  each  halt,  they  took  counsel  as  to 
their  next  proceedings.  This  foresight  was  indispensable 
for  the  avoidance  of  events  that  were  to  be  feared. 
The  worthy  Goulab,  for  whom  there  were  now  no 
secrets,  had  confided   to    the    travelers    the    information 


THE  DHAULAGIRI.  iir 

obtained  at  the  sanctuary  of  Gangotri.  Some  fifty 
Sivaites  had  passed  that  way  in  advance  of  him,  and 
from  the  details  that  he  had  gathered,  the  shikari  had 
recognized  that  the  Rajput  guide,  Ramu,  was  among 
them.  He  then  summed  up  his  impressions  in  a  coun- 
sel of  caution  that  was  very  skillfully  defined. 

He  was  convinced  that  the  Dogra  had  been  able 
to  lead  a  certain  number  of  fanatics  on  the  mountains 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  laying  a  snare  for  the  white 
travelers. 

They  would  before  long  find  them  on  their  road, 
and  then,  far  from  the  eyes  of  English  authority,  the 
wretches  would  not  hesitate  to  attempt  an  attack.  It 
would  then  be  necessary  to  give  battle,  and  perhaps 
under  disadvantageous  conditions. 

All  the  maps  were  unfolded,  all  those,  at  least,  that 
related  to  the  expedition.  They  were  unfortunately  very 
incomplete,  none  of  the  preceding  explorers  since  Mont- 
gomery, Bailie,  and  the  Pundit  Nain-Sing,  having  suc- 
ceeded in  passing  the  elevation  of  the  Niti  Pass. 
Adolph  Schlagintweit  himself  had  not  been  further  than 
Nanda-Devi. 

Nevertheless,  not  one  of  the  daring  excursionists  had 
a  moment's  hesitation  in  dicing  the  dangers  of  the 
route.  All  responded  with  a  vigorous  exclamation  lO 
the  little  discourse  that  Merrien  thought  it  his  duty  to 
address  to  them. 

*'My  dear  colleagues  and  rivals,  whom  I  am  happy 
to  call  my  friends,  the  moment  has  come  to  examine 
your  resolution  afresh.  There  is  yet  time  to  retrace 
your  steps.  The  excursion  that  has  led  us  to  the  foot 
of  the  Kaila  mountains,  to  the  very  '  Mouth  of  the 
Cow,'  is  a  very  pretty  one  to  have  acccomplished.    The 


112  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

fame  of  it  is  sufficient,  and  I  believe  that  you  have  al- 
ready your  names  upon  the  rocks  of  the  Himalayas,  and 
upon  history." 

Major  Plumptre  was  not  pleased  with  this  speech, 
which  seemed  to  him  to  be  inspired  by  disdain. 

''Mr.  Frenchman,"  he  cried,  with  some  ill-humor, 
"'is  it  your  intention  to  beat  a  retreat  yourself?" 

"Never,"  declared  Merrien,  laughing.  "Even  if  1 
were  about  to  die,  I  should  implore  some  Bothia  to  carry 
my  bones  to  the  summit." 

"In  that  case,  I  find  you  very  inconsiderate  in  daring 
to  propose  a  retreat  to  Englishmen.  Where  you  go, 
we  go." 

"  I  agree  with  Major  Plumptre,"  said  Cicely  Weldon 
on  her  part. 

"  I  didn't  leave  Srinagar  to  stop  at  the  seventy- 
ninth  meridian  from  Paris.  Go  ahead,  then,  Mr.  Merrien, 
and  we  will  follow,  that  is,  unless  we  go  ahead  of 
you." 

There  was  nothing  more  to  say  after  such  replies. 
They  set  out  with  no  delay,  and  in  three  days  they 
had  traversed  eighty  kilometers ;  they  had  not  only 
done  more  than  the  proposed  average,  but  they  had 
"skipped"  certain  stopping  places,  such  as  Niti-Liti, 
and  the  plateaus  of  Milam.  The  evening  of  the  fourth 
day  they  had  reached  Taklagar,  and  penetrated  into 
Nepal  without  having  had  their  progress  interrupted  by 
any  prohibition  or  any  frontier  broils.  This  result  had 
been  obtained  thanks  to  the  resolution  and  wisdom  of 
Merrien,  who  was  unanimously  proclaimed  the  leader 
of  the  expedition.  The  Frenchman  had  decided  that  it 
would  be  best  to  follow  as  long  as  possible  the  line 
of  the    summit    at  a    mean    altitude    of  five    and    six 


THE  DHAULAGIRl.  113 

thousand  meters,  where  one  would  hardly  encounter 
anyone  other  than  the  Bhutan  shepherds,  and  need 
not  dread  the  unexpected  appearance  of  Hindu  or 
Nepalese  zealots.  The  event  had  proved  him  entirely 
right,  and,  what  was  entirely  unlooked  for,  but  a  very 
agreeable  surprise  to  the  travelers,  they  had  been 
enabled  to  ascertain  that  at  this  level,  by  a  strange 
freak  of  nature,  the  summit  line  that  they  were  fol- 
lowing formed  a  veritable  flat  causeway  across  the 
groups  of  the  chain.  Thus  they  were  able  to  gain 
ground  while  avoiding  the  dangerous  valleys  of  the 
south. 

"Yes,"  said  Jean,  laughing,  "we  are  here  in  a  region 
which  only  Europeans  can  approach  with  impunity. 
The  sharp  cold  of  the  nights  renders  access  to  it  well- 
nigh  impossible  to  men  of  the  southern  regions,  and 
that  is  what  has  kept  our  enemies  from  following  us 
upon  these  heights.  God  grant  that  we  may  thus 
continue  our  way  until  we  reach   Dhaulagiri." 

Unhappily,  this  hope  was  promptly  to  be  crushed. 
Taklagar  is  a  sort  of  fortress  fastened  between  the  high 
buttresses  of  the  chain.  It  was  impossible  to  proceed 
beyond  it,  the  authorities  of  the  country  exercising 
their  surveillance  very  actively  at  this  point,  which 
touches  the  Tibet  frontiers. 

Dr.  MacGregor  could  not  repress  a  sigh  as  he 
contemplated  the  white  line  of  the  summits  of  the 
Trans-Himalayas. 

And  as  the  major  asked  the  reason  of  this  apparent 
grief,  he  replied  very  frankly  : 

"It  is  truly  too  bad  that  we  should  not  be  able 
to  profit  by  the  proximity  to  descend  upon  the  other 
side    of  the   chain  into  the    valleys    that    separate    the 


114  THE  LAND   OF    TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Himalayas  from  Kuenlun.  It  is  in  this  part  of  Tibet 
that  the  sources  of  that  unknown  river  are  found,  the 
one  called  Tsang-bo  in  French  geographies,  and  confused: 
with  the  Brahmaputra  on  a  number  of  English  maps." 

He  spread  out  a  rather  ancient  map,  on  which  the 
mysterious  stream  of  water  figured  under  the  name  of 
''  Burrampooter." 

''Well!"  exclaimed  the  Scotchman,  ''why  shouldn't 
we  do  it  ?  Perhaps  we  shall  never  be  so  well  situated 
as  we  are  to-day  to  settle  a  question  which  constitutes  a 
geographical  problem  of  the  highest  interest.  After  all, 
to  scale  Gaurisankar  offers  glory  for  ourselves  alone,  but. 
to  reconnoiter  the  Tsang-bo  renders  a  service  to  the 
cosmographic  science  of  all  nations.  The  doctor's  idea  is 
a  good  one.  Hurrah  for  the  doctor's  idea!  Moreover, 
Merrien  himself  had  entertained  the  same  dream  ! " 

The  sudden  and  contagious  enthusiasm  of  the  major 
came  near  leading  the  entire  troop  into  a  complete 
overthrow  of  the  programme  that  they  had  made  out 
together,  and  with  which  the  press  of  the  whole  world 
was  presently  to  concern  itself,  as  well  as  the  scholars 
of  all  countries. 

But  Jean  Merrien  showed  himself  inflexible.  He 
harangued  his  companions  with  a  vehemence  which  the 
circumstances  justified. 

"Truly,  gentlemen,  has  the  mountain  wind  turned 
your  heads?  Must  it  be  I,  a  Frenchman,  a  man  of  that 
race  that  you  call  crazy-headed,  who  recalls  you  to  a 
remembrance  of  honor  pledged,  of  reason,  of  a  plan  that 
we  have  adopted  after  common  deliberation  ?  As  for  the 
rest,  do  as  you  please.  Go  and  seek  the  Tsang-bo  or 
the  Brahmaputra  if  that  seem  good  to  you  !  1  shall  pur- 
sue my  way  to  Gaurisankar  by  way  of  Dhaulagiri.     We 


THE   GOVERNOR    GAVE   THEM    AN    AUDIENCE. 


il6  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

shall  have  a  chance  later  to   return   to  the   Tsang-bo   or 
the  Brahmaputra." 

This  discourse  would  have  sufficed  to  keep  the  enthu- 
siasts in  "the  straight  path,"  if  an  incident  of  a  differ- 
ent order  had  not  occurred  to  render  palpable  the 
almost  insurmountable  obstacles  to  an  enterprise  that 
they  had  applauded  without  due  reflection. 

The  governor  of  Taklagar  sent  two  of  his  officers  to 
meet  the  travelers.  These  officers  belonged  to  a  mani- 
festly Tartar  race.  Their  angular  features,  their  promi- 
nent cheek-bones,  their  perceptibly  flattened  noses,  attested 
their  origin.  Moreover,  their  accouterments  bore  marks 
of  the  proximity  of  China,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
woolen  stuffs  of  which  their  clothing  was  made  re- 
vealed the  habit  of  sojourning  in  inclement  zones. 
The  two  envoys  of  the  governor  expressed  very 
courteously  the  desire  of  the  latter  to  himself  see  and 
question  the  explorers.  They  found  no  difficulty  in 
deferring  to  this  request,  and,  conducted  by  their  guides, 
they  set  out  upon  the  rugged  and  tortuous  path  that 
leads  from  the  city  to  the  "palace"  of  the  eminent 
personage,  a  formless  structure  like  a  stone  balcony  sus- 
pended on  the  projection  of  an  isolated  hill. 

They  had  not  to  wait  at  all.  The  governor  gave  them 
an  audience  at  once,  in  the  presence  of  a  third  officer 
whom  Merrien  and  his  friends  esteemed  it  great  good 
fortune  to  find  in  these  regions.  He  was  a  Gurkha, 
who  had  served  nearly  twenty  years  in  the  Indian  army, 
where  he  had  won  the  rank  of  soubadhar,  or  adjutant, 
which  the  general-in-chief  had  converted  into  that  of 
lieutenant  the  moment  that  Rannah  Garry,  the  name  of 
the  ex-subaltern,  had  been  retired. 

Very  proud  of  this  title,  and  of  the   honors  which   it 


THE  DHAULAGIRI.  117 

had  gained  for  him  and  his  country,  the  Gurkha  had 
kept  a  very  genuine  attachment  for  his  old  superiors, 
and  a  profound  respect  for  "Old  England."  Now, 
Major  Plumptre  had  known  the  soubadhar  while  in 
garrison  at  Delhi,  and  although  the  latter  had  never 
been  under  the  orders  of  the  cavalry  officer,  he  was 
none  the  less  pleased  to  present  himself  to  the  Scotch- 
man with  the  language  and  martial  bearing  of  an  old 
soldier. 

''God  save  you,  major!"  he  greeted  him,  as  soon 
as  Plumptre,  Merrien,  Miss  Weldon,  and  their  suite  had 
entered  the  audience  chamber.  Much  surprised  to  hear 
himself  addressed  in  his  mother  tongue,  the  officer  was 
still  more  agreeably  surprised  to  learn  from  the  lips  of 
the  ex-adjutant  himself  the  story  of  his  life  and  the  good 
will  that  he  felt  toward  the  travelers. 

These  latter,  prompted  in  a  few  words,  were  able  to 
reply  suitably  to  the  species  of  examination  to  which 
they  were  subjected  by  the  official  personage  with  whom 
they  had  to  do.  They  produced  the  safe-conducts  coun- 
tersigned by  the  president  of  Calcutta,  and  delivered  by 
the  sovereign  of  Khatmandu.  But  they  at  once  per- 
ceived the  pretensions  to  independence  set  up  by  the 
singular  functionaries  of  this  strange  kingdom  composed 
of  twenty  different  peoples. 

Rannah  gave  them  to  understand  that  a  present  of 
some  rupees  would  completely  soften  the  governor,  and 
the  latter  found  that  very  day  upon  a  Kashmir  rug  a 
very  beautiful   Sheffield    knife    with    a    handle    of .  horn 
decorated  in  silver,  and  five  good  guineas. 

Easily  satisfied,  the  potentate  of  Taklagar  invited  all 
his  visitors  to  a  sort  of  banquet,  where  they  ate  a 
succulent    curry    made    of  the    meat  of  the  kid,  which 


Il8  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

was  followed  by  an  evening  of  dancing  by  some 
Tibetan  Nautch  girls  of  remarkable  ugliness,  munching 
nuts,  while  the  major  alone  of  all  the  troop  consented  to 
smoke  three  pipes  of  opium  in  company  with  the  lord 
governor. 

Thanks  to  this  exchange  of  civilities,  Merrien,  the 
doctor,  and  Cicely  were  enabled  to  take  valuable  notes 
upon  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  region,  and 
upon  the  precautions  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
observe  during  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  They 
learned  in  this  way  that  the  road  to  the  north  was 
positively  closed  against  them,  and  that  the  mystic 
barriers  of  Tibet  would  be  lowered  only  for  shepherds 
and  traders.  But  what  annoyed  them  most  was  the 
necessity  of  descending  again  into  the  southern  valleys 
on  account  of  the  impossibility  of  crossing  the  Gogra 
near  its  source. 

This  river,  which  furnishes  the  Ganges  with  one  of 
its  principal  affluents,  comes  out  from  the  Himalayas  in 
two  branches  some  forty  miles  distant  from  one  an- 
other. They  both,  however,  bear  the  same  name,  or 
rather  the  same  names,  for  nothing  is  more  varied 
than  the  denominations  of  this  stream  of  water.  After 
having  borne  in  turn  upon  its  western  as  well  as  upon 
its  eastern  branch  the  appellations  of  Rizab,  of  Kali,  of 
Sarju,  of  Gogra,  of  Dewa,  fused  in  one  only  after 
leaving  Srinagar,  that  of  Dogra,  it  ends  by  adopting 
the  name  of  Dewah  in  India,  the  name  under  which 
it  waters  Faizabad,  and  Sultanpur,  and  throws  itself 
into  the  Ganges  above  Azimgar,  after  having  received 
the  limpid  waters  of  the  poetic   Rapti. 

Now,  each  of  these  two  sources  of  the  Gogra  pro- 
ceeds from  the  dense  mass  of  the    Himalayas,  through 


THE  DHAULAGIRI.  119 

frightful  gorges,  between  the  walls  of  defiles  four  or 
five  hundred  meters  in  height,  separated  by  precipices 
two  hundred  meters  wide,  across  which  human  indus- 
try has  not  yet  had  time  to  throw  bridges. 

it  was  the  absence  of  these  bridges"  that  obliged 
the  Europeans  to  go  down  into  the  south.  Possibly  the 
fuming  major  would  have  been  headstrong  enough  to 
descend  into  the  frightful  gorges,  if  the  Gurkha,  Ran- 
nah,  had  not  cautioned  him  to  use  strategy  rather  than 
open  force. 

He  even  held  forth  to  them  upon  this  subject  in  very 
explicit  language. 

''Get  it  well  into  your  mind  that  the  sovereign  of 
Khatn'.andu  exercises  only  a  nominal  authority  over 
the  diverse  and  fragmentary  populations  whose  cohesion 
is  due  only  to  their  hatred  of  Europeans.  It  is  from 
Tibet  that  the  real  influence  comes,  counterbalanced  by 
the  fear  of  England.  But  here  in  the  mountains  the 
hatred  of  the  white  men  often  overbears  the  fear  that 
they  inspire,  and  nothing  is  easier  than  to  hinder  them 
with  obstacles  ;  to  lay  snares  for  them,"  the  least  de- 
plorable effect  of  which  is  to  constrain  them  to  turn 
back  in  their  path.  For  the  rest,"  added  the  old  Indian 
soldier,  *M  will  give  you  a  guide  who  is  personally 
devoted  to  me.  He  will  conduct  you  by  the  shortest 
road  to  Chinachin,  and  from  there  to  the  falls  of  Kanar, 
where  he  will  procure  you  a  new  guide." 

They  were  obliged  to  resign  themselves  to  the  enor- 
mous loss  of  time  which  this  detour  occasioned.  The 
travelers  descended  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Gogra  as 
far  as  the  terrible  cataracts,  and  again  found  them- 
selves within  the  boundaries  of  the  Tarai  toward  the 
middle  of  April.    The  great  heat  was  about  commenc- 


I20  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

ing.  They  had  lost  an  entire  month  in  useless  journey- 
ing, and  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to  cross  Nepal 
obliquely  along  its  greatest  width. 

This  first  disappointment  threw  some  discouragement 
over  the  little  group,  but  the  indomitable  energy  of 
Merrien  did  not  fail.  Moreover,  the  substitute  pro- 
vided by  the  guide  spoke  of  the  remainder  of  the 
journey  with  so  much  faith  in  its  success  that  every- 
one accepted  his  opinion,  and  it  was  decided  that  they 
take  the  northern  road  again  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  guide  performed  his  duty  very  conscientiously. 
On  the  17th  of  April  they  had  passed  the  Nagal- 
pani,  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Rapti.  On  the  25th 
the  travelers,  after  great  hardships,  found  themselves  at 
the  center  of  the  high  valleys  watered  by  the  Gandak. 

The  explorers  did  not  allow  themselves  to  be  dis- 
mayed by  the  difficulties.  The  guide  had  warned  them 
that  this  part  of  the  journey  was  not  the  most  arduous 
or  the  most  dangerous.  The  ground,  in  spite  of  its  fre- 
quent variations  in  level,  nevertheless  maintained  an 
uninterrupted  elevation.  The  plateau  of  Malebun,  situated 
between  the  gorges  of  Barga,  and  the  Mayandi-Kola, 
finally  permitted  them  a  reassuring  sight  of  the  northern 
horizon. 

About  thirty  kilometers  away,  dominating  the  great 
mass  of  the  ''Son  of  Man,"  or  Narayana,  appeared 
TDwaldgiri,  or  more  exactly  Dhaulagiri,  which  means 
White  Mountain. 

The  prodigious  peak  rose  straight  upward  in  the  tender 
blue  vault  of  the  sky,  and  its  mantle  of  snow  was  crossed 
here  and  there  by  drifts  of  trailing  clouds.  At  its  right, 
scarcely  less  high,  secondary  peaks  were  seen  resplend- 
ent under  the    rays   of  the   sun,    Yassa,    Barathor,    and 


THE  DHAULAGIRf.  121 

Morchiadi ;    at  its  left  Dayabang  and   Deorali  rose  above 
the  dark  line  of  the  horizon. 

The  travelers  all  paused,  filled  with  religious  emotion. 
The  four  Hindus,  among  whom  were  Goulab  and  the 
guide,  prostrated  themselves,  obeying  different  senti- 
ments. Erect,  with  shining  eyes  and  heaving  chest, 
Cicely  Weldon  broke  out  in  admiration  : 

''There  it  is  at  last,  the  Dwalagiri  !  We  have  seen 
it !    How  beautiful  it  is  !  " 

"Nothing  remains  but  to  climb  it!"  cried  Plumptre. 
"The  eighteen  miles  which  separate  us  from  it  is  no  dis- 
tance at  all." 

Merrien  intervened,  recalling  the  general  plan.  He 
reminded  them  that  it  was  not  Dhaulagiri  that  they 
proposed  to  climb,  but  Gaurisankar ;  which  is  higher  by 
six  hundred  meters.  The  "  Mt.  Blanc"  of  Nepal  figured 
on  the  programme  only  with  the  simple  title  of 
"visite,"  the  picturesque  expression  used  by  the 
Frenchman. 

After  the  difficulties  which  had  been  encountered 
up  to  this  time,  one  must  assume  -  that  obstacles 
would  not  be  lacking  on  the  rest  of  the  journey.  Now, 
in  order  to  attain  Gaurisankar  by  following  the  valleys 
of  the  Gandak  and  the  Koci,  or  along  the  Hanks  of  the 
Lama-Dogra  which  follow  the  Chiriya-ghatis,  it  was 
necessary  to  estimate  the  distance  as  at  least  forty  miles 
in  a  straight  line. 

"Gentlemen,"  he  concluded,  with  much  logic,  "be- 
sides what  is  due  to  our  programme,  we  must  not 
forget  that  we  are  in  the  second  half  of  April,  that 
the  heats  have  commenced,  and  that  our  strength  will 
have  to  be  economized.  The  same  reasons  which 
made    us    renounce    the    exploration    of   the    Tsang-bo 


122  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

ought  still  to  keep  us  upon  the  slope  on  which  we 
are  at  present ;  that  is  to  say,  upon  the  southern 
slope  of  Dhaulagiri.  Let  us  then  content  ourselves  with 
a  glance,  and  leave  the  younger  for  the  elder." 

But  this  time  Major  Plumptre  protested  against  this 
sensible  language.     His  arguments  were  specious. 

"My  dear  Merrien,"  he  replied,  ''permit  me  to 
oppose  to  your  very  correct  reasons  other  good  reasons. 
Scarcely  thirty  kilometers  separate  us  from  Narayana. 
We  shall  never  be  nearer  that  goal  than  at  this  moment. 
Why  not  profit  by  the  opportunity  ?  What  is  six  hun- 
dred meters  more  or  less  ? " 

Merrien  was  not  at  a  loss  to  refute  this  argument. 
The  sentiment  of  the  greater  number  was  against  him. 
Dr.  MacGregor  himself  passed  over  to  the  opposition, 
and  in  order  to  satisfy  his  traveling  companions,  the 
Frenchman  consented  that  they  should  approach  nearer 
the  glorious  summit.  They  took  the  advice  of  the 
guide,  who  declared  that  the  best  road  was  that  which 
skirted  valleys  of  the  Barga  as  far  as  Deorali.  From 
there  they  would  be  able  to  rise  progressively  along  a 
gentle  slope  to  the  farthest  level  attainable  by  man. 

This  advice  they  followed,  and  Merrien,  somewhat 
disturbed,  took  his  place  with  the  rest.  From  that  day 
they  again  resumed  the  road  to  the  north. 


TUE   TRAITOR   HAD    DROPPED    UPON    HIS   KNEES. 


VIII. 

THE  AMBUSCADE. 

Nepal,  ns  Dr.  MacGregor  had  said,  is  a  country  in 
which  you  are  met  by  all  sorts  of  surprises.  Completely 
covered  by  mountains,  it  is  composed  of  valleys  and 
high  plateaus,  so  that  the  geographers  long  mistook 
the  nature  of  its  soil  and  its  boundaries.  Numerous 
English  maps  make  it  commence  at  Siwalik  at  the 
Chiriya-ghati  or  the  Lama-Dogra  chain,  to  terminate  at 
the  true  Himalayas. 

Upon  these  maps  the  giants  of  India  belong  only 
to  the  frontier  of  Tibet.  A  manifest  error,  and  one 
that  is  to-day   universally  recognized. 

Central  Asia,  in  fact,  contains  two  chains  of  unequal 
dimersions,  the  lesser  of  which  forms  the  rugged 
plateaus  of  Afghanistan  to  the  west  of  India,  while  the 
greater  is    distributed    in  two    gigantic    groups,   in  two 


124  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

divisions  running  one  from  the  southeast  to  the  north- 
west under  the  name  of  the  Kara-Koram  Mountains, 
the  other  from  the  northwest  to  the  southeast,  the 
Himalayas. 

This  in  its  turn  is  divided  into  two  great  masses 
separated  by  the  valley  of  the  Dingri-Maidan,  which 
has  caused  them  to  be  designated  by  the  titles  of  Hima- 
layas and  Trans-Himdlayas.  Beyond  the  Trans-Himalayas 
commence  the  plateaus  of  Tibet,  themselves  crossed  by 
the  deep  valley  of  the  Tsang-bo,  and  narrowly  closed 
in  between  the  double  Himalayan  chain  and  the  moun- 
tains of  Kuenlun  which  belong  to  the  Kara-Koram 
system  and  are  almost  unknown.  Now,  Nepal  is  situ- 
ated between  the  Himalayas  and  the  Trans-Himalayas, 
and  the  mountains  of  Dhaulagiri,  Gaurisankar,  Kinchin- 
jinga,  and  Chumalari  are  found  in  the  center  not  on  the 
northern  frontier  of  the  kingdom. 

Thus  the  travelers  were  mistaken  when,  according  to 
Merrien's  advice,  they  adopted  the  northern  summit  line 
in  order  to  redescend  toward  the  Narayana.  Their 
shortest  road  was,  beyond  all  possible  question,  that 
from  Faizabad  to  Jamla,  across  the  Chiriya-ghati,  but 
leaving  Jamla  upon  their  left  to  pass  through  the 
frontier  cities  of  Perthan,  of  Kebrachi,  and  of  Durkhot. 
Unhappily,  the  permits  granted  by  the  sovereign  of 
Nepal  only  left  them  the  choice  of  two  routes,  and 
they  had  thought  it  well  to  avoid  that  which  would 
subject  them  to  the  most  annoyance  on  the  part  oi 
the  worrying  authorities  of  the  region.  It  was  for  these 
reasons  that  they  had  lost  nearly  a  month,  and  had  use- 
lessly traversed  a  thousand  kilometers.  But  it  was  not 
worth  while  to  dwell  on  past  mistakes,  since  they  were 
nearing  the  goal.     They  must   avoid  making   others   in 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  125 

the  future,  and  prepare  for  the  obstacles  which    might 
rise  in  the  path  of  the  little  column. 

The  peoples  of  Nepal,  in  spite  of  their  diversity,  are 
generally  hospitable  and  loyal.  With  the  exception  of 
the  nomadic  tribes,  who  nearly  all  belong  to  the  Mon- 
golian type,  and  are  connected  by  their  very  visible  origin 
with  the  Chinese  or  Manchoo  families,  the  mountaineers 
of  the  Himalayas  belong  to  the  Aryan  race.  Tall,  well- 
built,  with  noble  features  marked  by  a  warlike  pride,  the 
men  of  these  high  regions  are  conscious  of  their  worth, 
and  seem  to  hold  to  their  independence  'before  any  other 
advantage  of  life.  Thanks  to  the  astonishing  variety  of 
the  climates  that  succeed  one  another  in  accordance  with 
the  gradual  elevation  of  the  crests,  there  are  found  in  the 
Himalayas  now  the  products  of  the  tropical  zones,  and 
again  the  vegetation  of  the  temperate  zones. 

The  same  slope  gives  in  the  spring  a  harvest  of 
wheat ;  in  the  autumn,  a  harvest  of  rice.  While  the 
palm  tree,  the  mango  tree,  the  pineapple,  and  the  banana 
mingle  and  ripen  in  the  sinuous  depths  of  the  chain,  the 
bread  tree,  the  European  cereals,  even  the  fruits  of  our 
climes,  rejoice  the  agricultural  population  of  the  higher 
levels,  and  this  at  heights  which  belong  to  the  domain  of 
perpetual  snow  in  our  European  mountains. 

At  three  thousand  meters'  altitude  crops  flourish,  at 
five  thousand  the  resinous  trees,  the  teak,  the  pine,  the 
fir,  the  cypress,  the  larch  abound  in  thick  forests  ;  by 
means  of  the  warm  temperature  maintained  by  their 
shelter  infinitely  less  robust  species  are  preserved,  such  as 
the  maple,  the  aspen,  the  plane  tree,  the  poplar.  The 
Himalayas  present  in  this  respect  the  appearance  of  an 
immense  experimental  garden.  Further  up,  desolation 
reigns  supreme.    No  mountain  system  offers  in  so  great 


126  THE  LAND  OF  TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

a  degree  the  appearance  of  death.  Bare  rocks  with  sharp 
crests  blend  together  the  entire  hierarchy  of  minerals  and 
earthy  sediments.  The  crust  in  its  upheaval  had 
cracked  in  places,  and  the  rigid  granite  rose  almost  to 
the  skies. 

Around  about  gneiss,  mica  schist,  limestones  of  mul- 
tiple origin  extend  and  mingle  in  gradations  that  discon- 
cert geological  science.  And  over  this  chaos  of  deposited 
stones  and  upheaved  pyrites  the  snow  lies  like  a  carpet 
of  silver,  continually  frozen  by  the  north  wind,  and 
continually  attacked  by  the  sun  up  to  those  deadly 
levels  where  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere  renders  life 
impossible.  The  travelers  had  to  cross  these  various 
stages,  and  submit  to  these  differences  of  surroundings, 
these  variations  of  temperature.  The  necessity  of 
anticipating  them,  and  of  fortifying  themselves  against 
them,  had  constrained  them  to  provide  themselves  with 
clothing  appropriate  to  the  climatic  conditions  to  which 
they  would  be  subjected.  Together  with  cotton  or 
flannel  stuffs,  they  had  been  obliged  to  carry  thicker 
and  tougher  materials.  Their  baggage  was  overloaded 
by  just  that  much,  and  the  ascent  rendered  more 
difficult.  Furthermore,  on  the  litters  that  necessitated 
the  presence  of  two  carriers,  there  had  been  placed 
certain  carefully  closed  metal  boxes,  which  belonged  to 
jean  Merrien,  and  concerning  which  he  maintained  an 
obstinate  silence. 

The  shikari  Goulab  showed  himself  no  less  obsti- 
nately taciturn.  Two  or  three  times  Merrien  had  seen 
the  pensive  and  searching  eyes  of  the  Indian  fixed 
upon  hjs  own  with  an  odd  expression,  as  though  he 
desired  to  confide  to  him  something  which  he  repressed 
just  at  the  moment  of  speaking. 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  127 

At  other  times  the  faithful  companion's  glances  rested 
upon  the  new  guide.  This  latter  was  also  a  taciturn 
fellow,  who  was  rarely  intrusive.  They  had  every 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  services,  moreover,  and 
there  had  not  been  the  slightest  sign  to  arouse  suspi- 
cion against  him. 

It  was  evident,  however,  that  Goulab  was  uneasy, 
that  Goulab  was  distrustful. 

Now,  if  Goulab  were  distrustful,  everyone  ought  to 
be  on  his  guard.  Was  not  the  Indian  as  reserved  as 
he  was  prudent  ?  When  the  ascent  by  way  of  Deorali 
had  been  decided  upon,  the  calm  anxiety  of  the  shikari 
was  abruptly  transformed  into  agitation. 

He  did  not  care  to  keep  his  doubts  to  himself,  and 
this  time  he  went  to  Merrien  of  his  own  accord. 

''Sahib,"  said  he,  ''perhaps  you  have  failed  to  pay 
sufficient  attention  to  the  itinerary  that  we  are  follow- 
ing?" 

"No,"  replied  the  Frenchman,  "but  1  have,  I  know 
not  why,  an  inexplicable  repugnance  for  it.  I  should 
have  preferred  approaching  Dwalagiri  by  its  own  slopes 
at  the  foot  of  its  first  terraces.  This  Deorali  route 
seems  to  me  good  for  nothing." 

"Your  repugnance  would  be  explained  if  you  knew 
that  the  mountain  of  Nayarana  is  the  only  one  exclu- 
sively dedicated  to  Vishnu,  while  the  peaks  that  flank 
it  are  consecrated  to  Siva  and  to  Kali,  whose  chosen  seats 
are  Deorali  and  Barathor." 

"Ah  !"  exclaimed  Merrien,  "and  you  who  know  re- 
ligious distinctions  to  the  core  do  not  feel  very  much 
confidence  in  the  vicinity  of  mountains  over  which  the 
Deva  of  death  is  the  uncontested  sovereign  ;  isn't  that 
so?" 


128  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

"More  than  that,"  replied  Goulab  ;  ''not  only  do  I 
feel  no  confidence  in  them,  but  I  have  all  kinds  of  good 
reasons  for  altogether  distrusting  the  votaries  of  Siva. 
Remember  that  the  Dogra  was  one  of  them." 

Merrien  did  not  wish  to  remain  in  uncertainty. 
Doing  violence,  in  some  sort,  to  the  Indian's  reserve,  he 
asked : 

''  And  you  suspect,  do  you  not,  that  this  is  a  second 
Ramu  ?  Speak  frankly,  and  without  disguise.  Have  I 
understood  you  ?  " 

So  speaking,  he  indicated  by  a  gesture  the  guide 
who  was  walking  without  a  word  at  the  head  of  the 
column. 

Goulab  bent  his  head  in  sign  of  assent.  Then,  after 
some  final  hesitation,  he  added  : 

''The  man  has  never  been  questioned.  You  should 
do  it  in  my  presence.  1  can  inform  you  at  once,  if 
he  lies  to  you." 

They  had  come  to  the  entrance  of  a  prodigiously 
narrow  and  somber  gorge. 

Sidewalls  of  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  meters  in 
height  rise  like  dizzy  cliffs  on  either  side  of  a  torrent 
whose  troubled  bed  and  foaming  waters  they  incased. 

They  were  about  to  enter  this  gorge  without  knowing 
either  its  extent  or  its  breadth. 

It  was  natural  that  they  should  inform  themselves 
before  plunging  into  it,  for  everything  was  to  be  feared 
in  that  frightful  passage.  Beside  the  danger  of  an  at- 
tack, which  would  be  a  veritable  ambuscade,  there  was 
to  be  dreaded  one  of  those  avalanches  that  are  so 
frequent  in  the  Himalayas,  and  which  displace  such 
quantities  of  ice  and  snow,  that  streams  scarcely  two 
meters   in   breadth    have    been    seen   to    be  transformed 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  129 

in  less  than  an  hour  into  frightful  torrents,  whose  sud- 
den increase  inundates  the  entire  valley  and  raises  the 
water  level  from  fifteen  to  twenty  meters  above  the 
ordinary  high-water  mark. 

Merrien  made  a  sign  to  his  companions.  The 
Breton  placed  himself  at  the  opening  of  the  gorge, 
watching  the  least  movement  on  the  part  of  the  guide. 
Then,  when  they  had  gone  a  hundred  paces  into  the 
valley,  the  column  stopped  abruptly.  Dr.  MacGregor, 
who  spoke  a  dozen  Indian  dialects,  addressed  the  guide 
quickly  : 

''Boy,"  he  commenced,  "we  have  trusted  you, 
without  asking  who  you  are.  It  is  right  that  we 
should  have  fuller  information." 

The  man  gave  a  start.  The  physician  had  addressed 
him  in  Kashmir  dialect  with  the  intonation  of  the 
Pahdris.  He  had  aimed  true.  The  man  must  be  a  native 
of  Punjab,  and  of  Dudputra.  How  came  he  to  be  here, 
in  the  mountains  of  Nepal,  so  far  from  his  native  coun- 
try ?  The  Pahdris  pass  in  general  for  very  sedentary 
people  and  industrious  workmen.  This^  peculiarity  had 
been  for  some  time  the  subject  of  the  doctor's  reflections, 
and  he  had  compared  it  with  the  nationality  of  the  fii'st 
guide,  Ramu,  a  Rdjput  Dogra  ;  that  is  to  say,  almost  a 
compatriot  of  the  Pahdri. 

Nevertheless,  the  Hindu  kept  his  countenance  and 
replied  clearly  to  MacGregor's  very  definite  ques- 
tioning : 

"Who  are  you?" 

"Pandari." 

"Your  country — I  mean  the  last  city  you  lived   in?" 

"  Srinagar,  in   Kashmir." 

The  physician  kept  silence  for  a  moment :  he  appeared 


I30  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

to  consider.  Then,  suddenly  raising  his  head,  he  looked 
the  guide  full  in  the  face. 

*'You  are  a  professional  guide?" 

The  man  was  troubled.  To  reply  in  the  affirmative 
was  to  give  his  interlocutor  the  right  to  ask  him  for 
his  guide's  license. 

Now  the  Pandari,  coming  from  Srinagar  by  way  of 
Dras,  Dehra,  Almora,  and  Rolpah,  could  not,  and  for 
good  reason,  show  such  a  license. 

''No,"  he  said,  'M  am  only  an  occasional  guide.  I 
have  crossed  the  passes  many  times,  and  I  know  the 
country." 

"  Do  you  also  know  a  Dogra,  who  is  called  Ramu, 
and  who  was  our  guide  as  far  as  Gangotri  ?  " 

The  man  was  not  disconcerted.  He  replied  boldly, 
''No,"  without  taking  his  eyes  from  those  of  his  inter- 
locutor. All  present  at  this  scene  kept  silence,  not  taking 
their  eyes  from  the  group,  and  not  knowing  what 
MacGregor  was  getting  at. 

The  latter  was  preparing  his  effects.  Suddenly,  and 
with  apparent  indifference,  he  let  drop  this  very  sug- 
gestive phrase : 

"  Since  you  come  from  Srinagar,  you  must  certainly 
know  two  of  my  professional  friends — Dr.  Lall-Sing 
Catterjee  and  his  pupil  Madar-Goun." 

In  speaking  these  words,  the  Englishman  fixed  so 
sharp  a  gaze  upon  the  guide  that,  in  spite  of  all  his  power 
of  dissimulation,  the  latter  could  not  hide  his  confusion. 
He  stammered  something,  and  finally  confessed  that  he 
knew  the  two  native  physicians. 

MacGregor  turned  toward  Merrien  and  his  companion, 
and  fearing  that  the  Pahari  would  understand  English, 
he  spoke  in  French  : 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  131 

''  I  know  now  what  I  wanted  to  know,"  he  said. 
''  Dr.  Madar-GoLin  has  long  been  known  to  me.  He 
is  one  of  the  worst  enemies  of  Europeans  in  general, 
and  of  the  British  influence  in  particular.  He  is  strongly 
suspected  of  having  connection  with  the  secret  societies 
of  India  and  elsewhere.  1  am  now  very  exactly  in- 
formed on  his  score ;  and  if  we  return  from  our  expedi- 
tion, 1  shall  be  able  to  furnish  proofs  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Calcutta." 

"If  we  return?"  cried  Major  Plumptre.  ''Why  do 
you  speak  thus,  doctor  ?  " 

"  1  feel  absolutely  certain  that  we  have  fallen  into 
a  trap,  and  that  we  shall  presently  be  attacked." 

"Ho!  ho!"  cried  the  officer,  "that  is  not  at  all 
reassuring.  On  what  grounds  do  you  found  that  suppo- 
sition?" 

MacGregor  rapidly  explained.  His  entirely  plausible 
inferences  rested  on  the  double  occurrence  of  a  Sivaite 
guide  succeeding  another  guide  of  the  same  religion.  He 
did  not  conclude  that  all  Sivaites  pushed  the  worship  of 
the  God  of  Death  as  far  as  the  offering  up  of  human 
sacrifices,  but  the  three  attempts  which  had  already  been 
made  upon  the  column,  two  of  which  attempts  had  been 
followed  by  the  death  of  the  victims,  and  the  third  of 
which  might  have  had  the  same  termination,  since  they 
had  lost  all  trace  of  the  little  Christian  Madrasi,  were 
more  than  sufficient  to  justify  the  inferences  of  the 
physician. 

He  then  added,  designating  Pandari,  who  had  retired 
into  his  fatalist  silence  : 

"The  simplest  prudence  commands  us  to  shoot  this 
man  at  once.  Nevertheless,  since  we  cannot  commit 
homicide  on   mere  suppositions,  however  probable  they 


132  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

appear,  I  recommend  that  one  or  another  of  us  keep 
him  constantly  in  sight.  At  the  first  alarm  we  will 
blow  his  brains  out." 

''So  be  it !"  said  Merrien  ;  ''but  meanwhile,  what 
are  we  going  to  do,  gentlemen  ? "  The  alternative  was 
embarrassing.  To  beat  a  retreat  was  to  recoil  before  a 
menace  not  yet  actual ;  to  go  forward  was  to  throw 
one's  self  into  the  unknown,  consequently  to  face  peril. 

Merrien,  always  wise,  was  the  first  to  give  counsel : 

"Gentlemen,  I  have  opposed  the  project  of  ascend- 
ing Dwalagiri  for  reasons  that  you  know.  At  present,  on 
the  contrary,  1  am  of  the  opinion  that  we  should  continue 
our  route  for  several  reasons,  chief  among  them  the  fact 
that,  in  gaining  the  heights,  we  shall  escape  the  pur- 
suit of  adversaries,  whom  the  cold  in  itself  will  suffice  to 
check." 

"Hurrah  for  Merrien!"  cried  Plumptre.  "All  right! 
Let  us  climb  the  cliffs  by  the  shortest  way,  and  we 
shall  avoid  a  surprise  in  this  infernal  passageway." 

"  But  will  everyone  be  able  to  follow  us  ? "  ques- 
tioned the  doctor.  He  indicated  Miss  Weldon,  Goulab, 
and  the  two  faithful  Hindus.  Cicely  responded,  with  a 
charming  gesture  of  indifference  : 

"So  far  as  1  am  concerned,  doctor,  you  know  that 
1  am  an  American." 

The  shikari  on  his  part  unfolded  a  large  shawl  brought 
from  Srinagar,  and  with  a  smile  that  was  full  of  pride 
he  added  : 

"  1  know  what  cold  is,  doctor.  In  fact,  we  are  old 
acquaintances.  With  this  I  shall  be  able  to  face  it 
without  fear." 

The  two  Indians,  who  were  devoted  to  their  mas- 
ters, made  similar  replies.  • 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  133 

"Then,"  concluded  Merrien,  ''there  is  no  need  for 
hesitation.  Let  us  retrace  our  steps,  and  try  to  scale 
the  cliff." 

At  the  first  sign  of  retreat  the  Pahari  showed  by 
a  gesture  the  annoyance  he  felt.  Seeing  which,  the 
major  had  seized  his  rifle  and  rapidly  pointed  its 
muzzle  at  the  guide.  But  Euzen  Graec'h  caught  hold 
of  it,  saying  to  the  Scotchman  peaceably  : 

"  Bah !  that's  useless  !  don't  lose  your  powder.  I 
will  take  care  of  this  bird.  He  shan't  fly  away  from 
me,  1  swear  to  you." 

Then,  with  the  same  placidity,  he  walked  up  to  the 
Indian,  and  with  a  hand  like  a  pair  of  pincers  gripped 
Pandari's  shoulder.  Held  in  that  frightful  clutch,  the 
traitor  dropped  upon  his  knees,  and  a  hoarse  cry  sprang 
from  his  throat. 

''Come,  come!"  joked  the  ex-sailor,  "don't  cry  yet. 
I  don't  want  to  kill  you  so  soon.  Later  on  we'll  see 
about  it.  But  for  the  moment,  1  only  intend  to  spare 
you  the  hardships  of  the  journey.  You  ought  to  thank 
me  for  that.  Come  now — whoop  !  "  So  speaking,  the 
Breton  forced  the  guide's  arms  violently  backward  until 
the  wrists  crossed.  By  the  aid  of  a  slender  cord  he 
bound  them  in  such  a  way  that  the  man  was  incapable 
of  making  the  least  use  of  them.  Then,  lifting  him  as 
a  marketman  would  lift  a  bag  of  meal,  he  threw  him 
over  his  left  shoulder. 

"It  is  astonishing  how  little  these  Hindus  weigh!" 
exclaimed  the  Hercules,  with  a  naivete  that,  in  spite  of 
the  gravity  of  the  situation,  made  them  all  laugh. 

"Are  we  ready?"  then  asked  Merrien's  vibrating 
voice,  as  the  explorer  sent  his  glance  over  his  troop  in 
review.     He  saw  that  all   were  arrayed  for  the   march. 


134  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

He  himself  took  the  lead,  in  company  with  the  sailor  and 
his  burden. 

They  put  Miss  Weldon  in  the  center  of  the  column, 
flanked  by  her  two  Yankee  body-guards.  Goulab,  the 
Hindus,  Plumptre,  and  the  doctor  brought  up  the  rear. 

They  were  not  more  than  ten  minutes  in  regaining 
the  entrance  of  the  gorge.  Nothing  occurred  along  the 
dangerous  defile. 

"Zounds!"  said  the  doctor.  ''The  Pahari  has  had 
no  time  to  warn  his  accomplices.  Otherwise,  it  is  not 
credible  that  we  should  have  been  permitted  to  come 
out  alive  from  the  infernal  passage.  Two  or  three 
rocks  detached  from  the  overhanging  cliff  would  have 
been  enough  to  lay  us  all  out." 

And  the  doctor  pointed  with  his  fingers  to  the 
frightful  height  of  the  walls  that  were  as  smooth  as 
walls  of  glass  or  ice. 

He  had  not  finished  his  sentence  before  Merrien, 
who  was  some  fifty  meters  ahead  of  the  troop,  gave 
an  abrupt  command  : 

"Halt!"  he  cried.     "To  arms!" 

Euzen  Graec'h  quickly  threw  down  the  human  bundle 
with  which  he  was  encumbered.  His  left  foot  on  the 
chest  of  the  prostrate  Pandari,  he  had  put  his  rifle  to 
his  shoulder  at  the  same  time  that  Merrien  did  his. 
In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  other  travelers  had 
spread  to  the  right  and  left,  ready  for  skirmishing. 
They  were  more  than  a  mile  from  any  town,  on  a 
sharp  and  exposed  crest  that  commanded  the  steep 
cliff  under  which  they  had  just  passed.  As  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the 
northern  chain,  and,  to  the  south,  the  wooded  slopes 
they  had  climbed  the  day  before.     It  was  a  bad  place  to 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  135 

give  battle,  for  it  was  precisely  by  way  of  the  cliff  that 
the  enemy  was  approaching.  The  assailants,  to  the 
number  of  fifty  or  thereabouts,  ran  at  the  top  of  their 
speed,  to  open  a  downward  fire  upon  the  little  troop. 
It  was  evident  that  they  had  expected  to  wait  for  the 
column  in  the  middle  of  the  defile  in  order  to  crush 
it,  just  as  the  doctor  had  foreseen. 

But  seeing  no  one  coming,  and  warned,  doubtless, 
by  scouts  posted  along  the  route,  they  did  not  wish 
to  let  their  prey  escape. 

One  of  them,  the  first  to  arrive  at  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  aimed  rapidly  at  the  sailor  standing  erect 
upon  Pandari. 

He  had  not  time  to  press  the  trigger.  His  arms 
opened,  letting  the  rifle  drop  into  space,  whither  it  was 
immediately  followed  by  the  man. 

The  latter  could  be  seen  to  turn  over  several  times  before 
he  came  crashing  down  at  the  foot  of  the  granite  wall. 

''That's  one!"  cried  Plumptre,  reloading  his  weapon. 
''You  were  right  just  now,  Graec'h.  There  was  a  better 
use  for  the  powder." 

He  pointed  to  the  guide  turned  on  his  face  under 
the  ex-sailor's  foot,  and  asked  :  "  Well,  what  are  you 
going  to  do  with  that  one  ?  I  think  it  is  time  to  get  rid 
of  him  by  sending  him  to  his  god." 

"I  think  so,  too,"  replied  the  Breton. 

He  stooped,  placed  his  rifle  on  the  ground,  and  gath- 
ering up  the  miserable  Pahari  by  the  nape  of  the  neck 
and  the  thighs,  he  bent  him  over  his  titanic  knee.  This 
he  did  with  marvelous  ease.  Literally  broken  in  two,  the 
traitor  uttered  a  dreadful  death  cry.  A  single  blow  from 
the  butt-end  of  a  rifle  closed  this  frightful  wail,  crushing 
the  scoundrel's  skull. 


136  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

It  was  answered  by  two  shots  from  the  top  of  the 
cliffs.    They  hit  no  one. 

*'  Bunglers  !  "  cried  Euzen,  who,  together  with  Mer- 
rien,  Goulab,  and  the  doctor,  had  taken  aim. 

Ten  of  the  assailants  were  now  at  the  Q(\gQ  o\  the 
abyss.     Four  of  them  fell  as  the  first  had  fallen. 

Jean  Merrien  turned  toward  his  companions.  He  had 
had  time  to  inspect  the  line  of  the  heights. 

''Gentlemen,"  he  commanded,  ''we  have  time  to 
reach  the  wooded  slopes,  and  then  we  shall  be  under 
shelter.  I  will  cover  the  retreat  with  the  major,  the 
doctor,  and  Goulab.  Let  all  the  others  file  down  the 
side  of  the  slope.  Euzen,  you  take  charge  of  the 
heaviest  of  the  baggage.  Save  the  boxes.  You  know 
how  important  they  are." 

That  was  the  order  of  the  commanding  officer. 
Everyone  obeyed.  In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  body 
of  the  troop  had  cleared  the  crest  of  the  plateau,  gaining 
the  shelter  of  the  forest  of  teaks  and  pines  which  fringed 
the  slope.  Meanwhile,  the  four  men  who  remained 
behind  swept  the  line  of  the  cliff  with  their  unerring 
fire. 

That  done,  they  in  their  turn  followed  their  com- 
rades' retreat,  joining  them  under  the  trees. 

The  skirmish  had  ended  well,  since  they  had  sustained 
no  loss  and  had  killed  a  dozen  of  their  adversaries. 

But  they  could  no  longer  think  of  continuing  the 
ascent  of  Dhaulagiri,  especially  by  the  Deorali  road. 
The  most  elementary  prudence,  even,  urged  them  to 
regain  the  valleys  of  the  Barga  as  soon  as  possible, 
where  they  would  find  an  asylum  by  the  firesides  of 
worthy  and  hospitable  mountaineer  families.  They 
would,  moreover,  have  To   keep   the  closest  watch,   not 


THE   ASSAILANT   COULD   BE   SEEN   TO   TURN   OVER    SEVERAL  TIMES. 


138  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

relaxing  it  in  the  smallest  particular,  especially  while 
crossing-  the  forests.  If  the  trees  furnished  a  provisional 
shelter  for  the  explorers,  they  would  be  of  equal  aid 
to  their  assailants.  It  was  a  terribly  difficult  retreat. 
Even  though  they  were  safe  from  the  great  flesh - 
eating  animals,  and  from  serpents  who  never  attain  to 
such  elevations,  they  had  still  to  dread  buffaloes, 
yaks,  boars,  and  even  wild  elephants. 

Moreover,  they  were  obliged  to  find  their  relation  to 
the  points  of  the  compass  every  moment,  in  order  not  to 
lose  themselves  in  the  depths  of  the  woods.  Frequently 
the  descent  sloped  suddenly  at  a  tremendously  sharp 
angle,  and  there  was  nothing  for  the  travelers  to  do  but 
to  let  themselves  slide  down  on  their  backs  ;  catching 
with  their  hands  and  feet,  at  the  tree-trunks,  at  tufts  of 
brake,  at  anything  in  fact  that  would  break  their  fall. 
Sometimes  the  slope  would  cut  perpendicularly  across  a 
deep  ravine,  over  a  yawning  gulf  that  did  not  reveal 
itself  until  they  had  reached  its  dizzy  rim  ;  many  times 
they  had  good  reason  to  tremble,  for  it  happened  that 
Morley,  one  of  Miss  Weldon's  servants,  descended  one 
of  these  treacherous  banks  more  rapidly  than  he  would 
have  desired.  The  unfortunate  fellow  rolled  for  two 
hundred  meters  over  the  slippery  grass  and  damp  moss 
to  the  very  edge  of  a  precipice  giving  upon  a  valley 
four  hundred  meters  below.  He  owed  his  safety  en- 
tirely to  his  providential  encounter  with  an  enormous 
stump  that  sprang  up  at  the  point  mentioned  to  check 
the  poor  boy  at  the  very  mouth  of  the  abyss. 

Thus  they  were  nearly  eighteen  hours  in  regaining 
the  plateau  of  Malebun,  which  they  had  left  the  evening 
previous  to  their  adventure  in  the  Deorali  gorges.  This 
made  five  more  days  lost,  without  counting  the  hardships 


THE  AMBUSCADE.  139 

they  had  undergone  and  the  dangers  they  had  run. 
Twice,  in  the  course  of  the  stages  of  their  progress, 
which  were  cruel  in  spite  of  their  shortness,  they  had 
been  obliged  to  bivouac  m  the  midst  of  the  trees.  The 
anticipation  of  possible  ambuscades  had  prevented  their 
lighting  a  fire,  and  they  had  suffered  severely  from 
the  terrible  cold  of  the  night. 

In  all  these  trials  the  bold  adventurers,  now  united 
by  a  friendship  that  was  rendered  firmer  and  closer  by 
community  of  suffering,  were  equal  to  the  circumstances 
and  to  the  mission  that  they  had  undertaken.  They 
all  showed  a  touching  devotion  to  the  courageous  young 
girl  who  shared  their  perils.  They  united  to  keep  her 
from  the  most  severe  extremities,  before  everything 
else,  and  Cicely  Weldon,  moved  to  tears  by  such  dis- 
interested affection,  vowed  to  her  friends  that  she 
would  never  forget  the  days  of  Himalayan  hardships. 
She  appeared  no  less  distressed  at  being  in  some  sort  a 
hindrance  to  her  companions,  reproaching  herself  for 
having  imposed  further  toil  and  anxiety  upon  them  by 
her  presence. 

They  finally  reached  the  little  town  of  Takam  on  the 
Mayandi-Kola.  A  complete  day  of  rest  was  indispensable. 
The  travelers  allowed  themselves  this  respite. 

They  could  but  congratulate  themselves  upon  the  re- 
ception that  had  been  given  them. 

Lodged  in  the  house  of  the  officer  in  charge  of  the 
region,  they  found  dry  and  clean  mats  to  sleep  on,  and 
healthful  and  abundant  food  at  the  open-air  markets. 
They  had,  indeed,  to  content  themselves  with  the  same 
meat  at  every  meal — that  of  lambs,  left  there  by  the 
nomadic  shepherds  who  come  down  from  Tibet  with 
innumerable  herds,  the  wool  of  which  they  sell  at  Agra, 


HO  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

at  Delhi,  at  Gwalior,  at  Srinagar,  and  at  Lahore,  and 
which  they  lead,  transformed  into  beasts  of  burden, 
laden  with  the  products  of  the  Anglo-Indian  peninsula, 
to  supply  the  markets  of  Tibet  and  China. 

Merrien,  who  had  not  opened  his  lips  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  descent,  except  to  give  his  orders  for  the 
march,  profited  by  the  circumstances  to  interview  one 
of  these  shepherds,  and  to  obtain  from  him  at  a  cost  of 
sixty  rupees  the  promise  that  he  would  abandon  the 
passes  of  the  northwest  for  those  of  the  northeast. 

The  travelers  gained  from  this  bargain  the  assurance 
of  permanent  supplies,  and  an  easy  and  cheap  means  of 
transport  for  the  baggage  that  they  had,  up  to  that  time, 
carried  themselves.  The  nomads  agreed  to  escort  them 
as  far  as  the  Kerang  pass  at  the  entrance  to  the  moun- 
tain of  Chingo-pa-mari. 


^'^^ 


vi:r'9y<i^''~^ 


MISS   WELDON    GAVE   THE   CHIEF    AN    AMERICAN    POLL. 


IX. 


A  CLOUD. 

From  Thnkur  to  Gaurisankar  the  travelers  had  nearly 
three  hundred  kilometers  to  traverse.  They  were  obliged 
to  proceed  by  such  stages  as  suited  the  shepherds  who 
accompanied  them,  twenty  kilometers  a  day,  which  gave 
them  fifteen  good  days  of  marching.  And  at  the  end  of 
the  time  they  would  only  have  reached  the  foot  of  the 
mountain.  It  was  still  to  be  climbed.  Would  they  be 
any  better  off  than  before  for  the  ascent  of  Dhaulagiri  ? 

Up  to  this  time,  apart  from  the  attack  by  the  zeal- 
ots on  the  slopes  of  Deorali,  they  had  had  nothing  to 
complain  of  on  the  part  of  either  the  population  or  the 
authorities.  The  former  had  shown  themselves  at  all 
times  cordial  and  compliant,  the  latter  had  been  con- 
spicuous by  their  absence,  and  no  village  chief  had  re- 
newed the  inquisitorial  pretensions  of  the  ''governor"  of 

Taklagar.     But  they  must  hold  themselves   ready  for  any 

141 


142  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

event.  The  territory  that  they  were  entering  upon  was 
almost  entirely  peopled  by  independent  Gurkhas,  and  it 
was  to  be  feared  that  these  wild  natives,  refugees  from 
Garhwal  and  from  Kumaun,  would  not  share  the  senti- 
ments of  respect  and  affection  felt  for  the  English  by 
their  reconciled  brethren. 

They  were  soon  made  acquainted  with  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  inhabitants.  They  encountered  no  hostility. 
The  preceding  year,  in  fact,  the  governor  of  Calcutta 
had  sent  to  Darjiling  a  strong  detachment  of  Anglo- 
Indian  troops,  about  three  thousand  men  with  two 
field  batteries.  This  was  at  once  a  skillful  demonstra- 
tion, a  useful  exercise  for  the  soldiers,  and  a  most  ap- 
propriate hygienic  measure. 

They  had  chosen  three  battalions  of  the  finest  regi- 
ments of  India  ;  Sikhs,  Maharatis,  and  Gurkhas.  These 
last  had  been  sent  apparently  in  order  that  they  might 
breathe  their  native  air,  in  reality  in  order  that  in  the 
course  of  their  mountain  maneuvers  they  might  easily 
put  themselves  in  touch  with  the  populations  on  the 
other  side  of  the  frontier. 

Now  the  latter  had  swarmed  to  contemplate  and  ad- 
mire the  fine  deportment,  the  martial  attitude,  and  the 
superb  uniforms  of  these  chosen  troops  during  the  re- 
views and  evolutions.  The  officers  who  commanded 
them  were  also  picked  men,  and  if  Plumptre  was  not  of 
their  number,  it  was  only  because  it  is  difficult  to  make 
use  of  a  cavalry  officer  at  from  three  thousand  to  six 
thousand  meters'  altitude.  The  good  major  had  been 
greatly  annoyed  about  it,  and  was  forever  storming 
against  regulations  that  prevent  a  man  from  being  at 
once  cavalryman  and  infantryman.  He  now  abundantly 
proved  the  absurdity  of  such  regulations. 


A   CLOUD.  143 

The  travelers  could  not  but  be  satisfied  with  the 
reception  that  they  met  with.  Furthermore  they  passed 
to  the  north  of  the  capital,  higher  than  the  valley  in 
which  Khatmandu  is  situated  upon  the  two  rivers 
Baghmati  and  Vishnumati.  The  commissions  with  which 
they  were  provided  did  not  permit  them  to  descend 
into  the  sacred  city,  but  from  the  summit  line  which 
they  followed  they  could  discern  in  the  distance  in- 
numerable pagodas,  like  those  of  the  towns  of  Patau 
and  of  Bhatgaon,  situated  in  the  beautiful  valley  of 
the  Newa,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  of  Nagarjun  and 
Omhasf. 

While  wondering  at  the  diversity  of  the  races,  admir- 
ing the  vigor  and  warlike  spirit  of  the  Gurkhas,  the 
original  elegance  and  literary  feeling  of  the  Newars,  the 
most  ancient  of  the  Aryans  of  Nepal,  the  explorers 
could  not  restrain  a  pained  surprise  in  noticing  the 
infirmity  with  which  a  considerable  number  of  the  in- 
habitants are  afflicted.  In  these  mountainous  regions, 
in  fact,  as  in  the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees,  the  goiter, 
that  hideous  deformity,  has  spread  to  -such  a  degree 
that  it  is  even  found  among  certain  races  of  animals, 
such  as  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  even  swine — animals  that 
are  very  well  treated  by  the  more  or  less  fervent  Bud- 
dhists of  the  country.  Of  the  three  assistants  of  the 
shepherd  with  whom  the  explorers  had  made  their  con- 
tract, two  were  abominably  goitrous. 

When  Cicely  Weldon  questioned  the  shepherd  as  to 
the  cause  of  this  affliction,  the  latter  responded  that  the 
Pundits  and  the  Gurkhas  attributed  it  to  the  bad  qual- 
ity of  the  water,  which  was  heavily  charged  with  lime. 
He  added  that  an  additional  cause  might  be  found  in 
the  fact    that    the    natives    carry    upon    their  heads,   or 


144  THE  LAND  OF   TAU/NY  BEASTS. 

hung  over  their  shoulders  by    means    of  a    strap    fast- 
ened in  front,  the  heaviest  kind  of  burdens. 

Dr.  MacGregor  shook  his  head  at  this  last  allega- 
tion. 

''No,"  said  he,  "that  is  not  the  cause  of  this  de- 
formity. The  water  certainly  has  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  it,  but  one  must  also  consider  the  variations  of 
temperature,  and  especially  the  humid  exhalations  of  the 
ground  under  the  scalding  sun." 

Another  malady  produced  a  still  worse  effect  upon  the 
travelers. 

They  encountered,  in  bands  and  itinerant  groups, 
men,  women,  and  even  children,  with  faces  corroded  by 
that  horrible  disease,  that  tuberculosis  of  the  cutaneous 
tissue,  which  receives  in  Europe  the  name  of  'Mupus." 
The  contrast  was  a  frightful  one  between  these  unfortu- 
nate beings  devoured  by  cancer  and  their  surroundings, 
these  lovely  valleys,  these  wooded  and  grassy  slopes, 
the  marvels  of  the  flora  that  belongs  to  the  temperate 
and  torrid  zones,  the  exquisite  perfumes  exhaled  by 
open  corollas  and  fruit  still  hanging  to  the  branch. 

Above  Bhatgaon,  in  a  settlement  occupied  by  the  mag- 
nificent Magyar  race — ancestors,  so  certain  ethnologists 
say,  of  the  modern  Hungarians,  who  claim  their  founder 
Arpad  from  Asia — the  travelers  could  not  contemplate 
without  agreeable  surprise  the  successive  terraces,  admi- 
rably arranged  by  the  inhabitants  upon  the  mountain 
sides.  And  upon  these  terraces,  in  imitation  of  the  high 
cultivation  of  Darjiling  and  Masuri,  fields  of  wheat 
alternate  with  flourishing  vines. 

The  shepherds  who  served  as  convoys  to  the  little 
column,  after  having  shown  a  somewhat  shy  distrust, 
now  let  themselves   go   in    exuberant  confidence.    They 


A   CLOUD.  145 

had  never  crossed  Nepal  under  such  profitable  conditions. 
The  white  men  did,  indeed,  pay  them  generously.  The 
leader  of  the  troop  confided  laughingly  to  Goulab 
that,  with  the  money  earned  on  this  trip,  he  would  buy 
a  hundred  more  sheep  upon  his  arrival  in  Tibet.  Besides 
which,  the  smaller  favors  distributed  by  the  Europeans 
found  them  appreciative  and  grateful.  Thus  Merrien 
gave  the  chief  herdsman  a  marine  glass  which  the  lat- 
ter had  long  admired.  Plumptre  gave  his  son  a  six- 
barreled  English  revolver  with  fifty  cartridges  ;  the  doctor 
divided  between  the  two  subordinates  two  solid  Sheffield 
knives,  and  two  sealed  boxes  of  kola  with  which  to  re- 
fresh themselves  after  the  fatigues  of  the  journey.  Finally, 
Miss  Weldon  gave  them  for  their  wives  some  rings, 
some  bracelets,  some  earrings,  and  she  gave  the  chief 
an  American  doll  with  which  to  amuse  his  children — a 
veritable  masterpiece  of  mechanism  which  would  long 
command  the  admiration  of  the  whole  tribe,  and  the 
works  of  which  she  taught  the  man  to  wind  up  with 
delicacy  and  desirable  precaution. 

This  Cicely  Weldon  was  a  strange  and  charming 
girl. 

Tall,  and  admirably  proportioned,  like  nearly  all  her 
compatriots;  fair,  but  a  little  "burned"  by  her  travels 
and  the  open  air ;  with  tawny  golden  hair,  cut  short ;  a 
small  mischievous  mouth,  beautiful  blue  eyes  that  ex- 
pressed both  goodness  and  intelligence,  she  wore  the 
masculine  dress  with  an  ease  that  took  from  her  none  of 
the  womanly  graces. 

Up  to  that  time  her  presence  in  the  ranks  of  the  little 
company  had  only  tightened  the  bonds  that  united  the 
different  members  of  the  expedition.  Even  the  mystery 
with  which  she  was  surrounded,  and   concerning   which 


146  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

she  had  made  them  her  confidants,  contributed  to   make 
this  union  closer. 

Nevertheless,  a  little  jealousy  seemed  to  be  springing 
up  among  the  members,  owing  to  the  rivalry  between 
the  French  habit  of  command  of  Jean  Merrien,  and  the 
pretensions  of  British  pride,  of  which  Plumptre  was  the 
incarnation.  The  natural  preference  of  the  young  Ameri- 
can ''miss"  for  the  leader  of  the  expedition — whatever 
pains  she  might  take  to  divert  attention  from  it,  even  to 
dissimulate  it — must  needs  give  occasion  for  differences 
between  the  two  men,  but  only  such  as  could  occur 
between  gentlemen  and  warm-hearted  men. 

Fortunately,  besides  her  truly  superior  intelligence, 
Cicely  was  provided  in  the  highest  degree  with  that 
almost  infallible  instinct  of  women,  that  sagacity  which 
permits  them  to  read  souls,  and  that  delicate  art  which 
allows  them  to  pour  healing  balm  upon  the  wounds  of 
love.  She  was  pained  at  the  idea  of  possible  rivalry 
between  two  men  whose  high  qualities  and  chivalric 
loyalty  she  could  appreciate  in  one  as  in  the  other. 

But  it  had  not  taken  her  long  to  establish  the  dif- 
ference between  the  two  characters.  In  contradiction 
to  the  reputation  given  our  countrymen  by  foreigners, 
Merrien  was  very  little  of  a  talker.  He  expressed  him- 
self, on  the  contrary,  with  a  terseness  equal  to  that  of 
Graec'h  the  Breton,  who  only  spoke  on  great  occasions. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  major  possessed  exuberant 
loquacity,  which  afforded  a  striking  contrast  to  the  sober, 
measured  language  of  his  fellow-countryman.  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor,  and  which  had  given  the  latter  occasion  to  ad- 
minister many  a  reproof: 

"My  dear  fellow,  you  are  very  garrulous  in  words, 
but,  happily,  your  actions  have  the  eloquence  of  silence." 


A  CLOUD.  147 

Cicely  could  not  help  noticing  that,  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  campaign,  Jean  Merrien  had  become 
more  and  more  reserved,  while,  by  an  opposite  phe- 
nomenon, the  Scotchman  became  more  and  more  wordy 
and  intemperate  in  his  language. 

Furthermore,  he  had  upon  different  occasions  allowed 
ironical  remarks  to  escape  him,  unpleasant  criticisms  of 
the  direction  given  by  Merrien  to  the  expedition. 

This  tendency  to  bitterness  between  the  two  men 
must  then  be  averted  at  any  cost. 

Knowing  them  as  she  did,  the  young  girl  could 
easily  foresee  that  the  Frenchman's  patience  would 
finally  give  way,  and  that  one  unfortunate  word  would 
be  enough  forever  to  envenom  a  quarrel  that  up  to 
this  time  had  had  no  serious  grounds.  Already,  she 
had  several  times  seen  Jean's  brows  knit  quickly,  and 
a  gleam  cross  his  black  eyes. 

Discord  came  near  breaking  out  upon  a  very  slight 
pretext. 

They  had  just  halted  at  the  little  town  of  Dud- 
kunda,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tomba-Kosi,  after  having 
crossed  the  second  slope  of  Dayabang.  Nepal,  in  fact, 
possesses  three  mountains  known  by  the  name  of  Deo- 
rali,  and  two  by  that  of  Dayabang. 

These  are,  besides,  mythological  designations  which 
are  common  to  India.  The  halt  had  been  requested  by 
the  herdsmen  in  order  to  let  the  sheep  rest  a  day, 
and  also  because  the  question  had  come  up  whether 
the  herdsmen  should  separate  at  this  point  from  their 
companions. 

The  travelers  found  themselves  together  again  in  a 
sort  of  bungalow,  wretched  enough,  having  for  furniture 
only  a  table    and    some    stools    upon    some    old    mats 


148  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

that  covered  the  ground.  They  discussed  the  different 
hypotheses  relative  to  their  separation  from  the  shep- 
herds. 

'Mt  is  here  that  we  really  ought  to  separate,"  said 
Jean  Merrien.  "The  Kerong  pass  is  tweiity  kilometers 
to  the  north  of  the  place  we  are  in,  by  eighty-three 
degrees,  five  minutes.  That  is  the  most  direct  route  to 
Thakur-guba,  the  residence  of  the  Saimprupra  Lama." 

''We  have  still  another,"  cried  Plumptre,  consulting 
the  map  ;  ''that  is  the  Lonkour  pass. 

"There  is  a  third  one,"  said  MacGregor,  "the  Ibey- 
Dong  pass  in  the  gorges  of  Anun." 

"That  one,  gentlemen,"  resumed  Merrien,  "  is  forbid- 
den to  caravans.  Goulab  has  just  informed  me  that,  by 
a  common  decision  of  the  Lamas  and  the  Chinese 
Empire,  that  route  is  exclusively  reserved  to  pilgrims  who 
only  stop  at  Ib'Lassa." 

"Eh!  what  does  that  matter  to  us!"  replied  the 
major  crossly.  "We  do  not  have  to  concern  ourselves 
with  the  preferences  of  the  Buddhists.  If  we  pay  our 
people  a  few  more  rupees,  they  will  not  hesitate  to 
accompany  us  to  the  end." 

"Major,"  intervened  Cicely,  "do  not  forget  that  the 
end  for  us  is  the  mountain  of  Mayanama." 

''  All  the  more  reason  why  our  shepherds  should  ac- 
company us.  They  will  only  be  all  the  nearer  to  the 
Ibey-Dong  pass.  Besides,  if  they  are  refused  passage, 
they  can  retrace  their  steps.  The  season  is  propitious, 
the  weather  superb,  and  the  shorn  sheep  can  fatten^ 
themselves  on  the  fresh  grass  of  the  heights." 

"1  warn  you,  major,"  said  Merrien,  "that  they 
have  already  refused  this  service  to  me,  although  I 
offered  them  a  hundred  more  rupees." 


A   CLOUD.  149 

The  officer  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  replied  in  a 
mocking  tone  : 

'*  Because  you  did  not  know  how  to  approach  them, 
my  dear  sir.  The  French  are  miserable  diplomats.  I 
will  take  the  responsibility  of  deciding  these  people." 

They  separated  upon  this  bitter-sweet  remark  ;  Plump- 
tre  going  straightway  to  win  the  herdsmen  over  to  his 
side. 

When  he  was  seen  returning,  however,  with  a 
lengthened  face  and  discomfited  air,  no  one  thought  of 
making  fun  of  his  failure. 

''Zounds!"  he  cried  violently,  "it  is  your  fault, 
Merrien.  You  should  have  warned  me  that  they  had 
already  concluded  a  bargain  with  you.  At  my  first 
overture  they  immediately  replied  that  all  the  money 
in  the  world  could  not  make  them  go  as  far  as  Ibatia, 
that  is  to  say,  as  far  as  the  Ibey-Dong  pass,  because 
all  the  money  in  the  world  would  avail  them  nothing 
if  the  Chinese  should  impale  them.  They  added  that 
they  had,  moreover,  promised  Sahib  Merrien  to  carry 
our  baggage  to  the  passes  of  Lonkour  or-Tinki-la." 

''My  dear  major,"  replied  the  Frenchman,  without 
bitterness,  "  you  did  not  give  me  time  to  tell  you. 
You  seemed  so  sure  of  your  negotiations  that  1  should 
have  shown  a  very  bad  grace  to  try  to  turn  you  from 
them." 

"It  is  a  service  that  you  should  have  rendered  me, 
my  dear  sir,"  said  the  irascible  Scotchman.  "1  do  not 
like  to  be  ridiculous." 

"Nor  to  be  contradicted,  it  appears.  So  much  the 
worse  for  you.    It  is  easier  to  direct  one's  self  than  others." 

So  saying,  the  Frenchman  turned  his  back  impatiently 
upon  his  interlocutor,  who  suddenly  became  very  rel 


I50  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Miss  Weldon  saw  the  impending  menace,  just  ready 
to  break  forth. 

She  rose,  and  in  a  voice  that  was  moved  with  sor- 
row, she  said  : 

''Come,  gentlemen,  we  have  been  nothing  but  friends 
up  to  to-day.  Shall  such  a  puerile  incident  bring 
trouble  among  us  ?  " 

The  two  men  bowed  respectfully  before  the  young 
girl,  but  drew  apart  from  one  another,  without  saying  a 
word. 

Cicely  comprehended  that  the  situation  was  too 
strained.  She  went  and  shut  herself  up  in  the  room 
that  had  been  reserved  for  her  in  the  center  of  the 
wretched  caravansary.  She  passed  the  rest  of  the  day  in 
making  up  her  notes,  and  in  writing. 

The  night  passed  without  incident.  But  on  the  mor- 
row there  was  profound  astonishment  among  the  travel- 
ers at  the  disappearance  of  Cicely  and  her  two  Yankees. 

A  letter  which  the  girl  had  left  enlightened  them  as 
to  her  unexpected  absence. 

Miss  Weldon  had  taken  the  thing  lightly.  She  chaffed 
her  traveling  companions  gayly : 

My  Dear  Friends  : 

Your  trifling  difference  of  yesterday  came  just  in  time  to  remind 
me  that  you  are  at  the  same  time  my  rivals.  As  I  know  that 
you  would  not  let  me  leave  you,  on  account  of  apprehensions  of 
a  feminine  victory  over  your  manly  strength,  I  am  playing  you 
the  trick   of  being  the  first  to  remind   myself  of  your  wager. 

Consequently  I  am  leaving  you  to  take  the  trouble  of  having  my 
baggage  carried  by  these  good  shepherds.  I  abandon  it  to  you,  if 
necessary,  and  I  take  the  lead  on  the  road  to  Gaurisankar.  The 
American  flag  will  there  precede  all  others,  and  there  you  will  be 
welcomed   by   it.     But   while  warning  you  that   I   shall   have  four   or 


A  .CLOUD.  151 

five  leagues  the  start  of  you  at  the  time  that  you  will  read  this 
epistle,  1  do  not  wish  to  be  treacherous  to  you,  and  will  inform 
you  that  I  shall  go  directly  by  the   Dudkunda  road  to   Pangmo. 

Your  devoted, 

Cicely  Weldon. 

She  had  done  as  she  said.  Convinced  that  the  only 
way  to  restore  concord  between  the  two  men  was  to 
remove  from  them  all  pretext  for  rivalry,  even  cour- 
teous rivalry,  the  brave  young  girl  had  resolved  to  hasten 
her  march  toward  the  desired  summit. 

She  had  warned  her  two  American  body-guards  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  tg  set  out  that  very  night. 
All  three  had  rapidly  sorted  out  the  things  most  nec- 
essary to  their  immediate  needs,  and  had  put  them  in 
three  knapsacks.  Then,  provided  with  their  rifles  and 
necessary  ammunition,  they  plunged  resolutely  into  the 
darkness  and  the  perils  of  an  unknown  mountain  road. 

On  receiving  this  singular  missive,  the  Frenchman 
and  the  Englishman  looked  at  one  another  with  em- 
barrassment, almost  with  consternation. 

''These  women  !  They're  all  alike  !"  cried  MacGregor, 
with  a  significant  shrug  of  the  shoulders:  ''creatures 
of  nerves  and  emotions.  Ont  never  knows  what  they 
are  thinking ;  one  can  never  foresee  what  they  will  do. 
Here  we  are  all  upset  on  account  of  this  crazy  girl." 

The  major  appeared  deeply  moved.  He  approached 
Merrien,  and  extended  his  hand  spontaneously. 

"My  dear  friend,"  he  said,  "I  was  wrong  yesterday, 
and  at  other  times,  as  well.  1  can  but  excuse  myself  1 
feel  great  affection  for  Miss  Weldon,  and  1  was  jealous 
of  you.  There,  my  confession  is  made !  At  present,  1 
think  the  most  important  thing  is  to  rejoin  her,  and 
bring  her  aid  and  succor." 


152  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

The   Frenchman  -responded  warmly  to  the  pressure  of 
his  noble  rivaFs  hand.     He  said  : 

''  1  agree  with  you,  Major  Plumptre,  and  I  think  that 
you  are  the  most  loyal  and  generous  man  that  1  know." 

''Well!"  said  the  Englishman,  "then  let  us   lose    no 
time  in  advancing  upon  the  Pangmo  road." 

Without  being  able  to  explain  it  the  two  men  felt 
simultaneously  a  sinister  presentiment.  The  recollection 
of  the  dangers  they  had  run  since  the  commencement 
of  the  expedition,  and  just  recently  in  the  abortive  at- 
tempt to  scale  Dhauldgiri,  justified  them  in  their  dread 
of  new  ambuscades.  They  were,  no  doubt,  reassured 
by  the  thought,  that  this  time  they  were  no  longer  at 
the  mercy  of  a  guide  bought  or  acquired  by  the  fero- 
cious worshipers  of  Sivd  ;  there  was  no  doubt  that  the 
herdsmen  to  whom  they  had  intrusted  the.  care  of 
their  baggage,  to  whom  they  had  confided  the  task  of 
piloting  them  across  this  mountain-covered  country,  had 
merited  all  their  confidence.  But,  after  all,  they  were  in 
an  unknown  region,  they  frequently  crossed  enormous 
desert  places,  ten  and  fifteen  miles  square,  with  no  sign 
of  habitation  or  cultivation  ;  they  could  make  no  profes- 
sion of  Christian  faith  among  natives  belonging  to  all 
the  sects  of  India,  especially  to  Buddhism  and  Brah- 
man ism. 

They  had  been  able,  in  spite  of  the  proverbial  hos- 
pitality of  the  mountaineers,  to  estimate  correctly  the 
repulsion  with  which  the  white  men  inspired  nearly 
all  the  peoples  of  Nepal.  At  Naokot,  to  the  west  of 
Khatmandu,  they  had  come  very  near  being  obliged 
by  the  governor  of  the  place,  more  annoying  than  the 
one  at  Taklagar,  to  descend  again  to  the  south  ;  per- 
haps even  to  have  the  permits  vested   with   the   seal   oi 


THE   MAJOR    EXTKNDED    HIS   HAND    TO    MERRIEN. 


154  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

the  Bengal  Presidency  indorsed  at  the.  capital.  The 
major  was  obliged  to  show  his  teeth,  which  were  very 
sharp,  and  to  express  himself  in  forcibly  concise  language 
on  the  subject  of  the  rights  due  to  the  boundless  power 
of  England.  This  haughty,  almost  threatening  attitude 
finally  compelled  respect  on  the  part  of  the  functionary 
for  the  privileges  of  Great  Britain. 

There  was  no  room  for  doubt  that  at  Pangmo,  the 
young  American  would  find  herself  confronted  by  just 
as  difficult,  and  perhaps  even  more  vexatious  exactions. 
And  what  redoubled  the  anxiety  of  the  travelers  was 
the  discovery  that  Cicely  had  forgotten  to  take  with 
her  her  personal  commission,  which  also  covered  her 
two  attendants.  They,  therefore,  hastened  their  progress 
along  a  route  as  difficult  as  one  can  conceive  a  road 
to  be  that  is  no  wider  than  a  footpath,  and  that  rises 
and  falls  with  the  ridges  ;  thus  rendering  the  journey 
very  fatiguing,  and  lengthening  it  to  a  disheartening 
degree.  They  had  left  their  baggage  in  the  hands  of 
the  shepherds,  knowing  very  well  that  if  the  Nepalese 
and  Tibetan  mountaineers  had  been  able  to  accomplish 
the  trick  of  utilizing  the  sheep  as  beasts  of  burden, 
they  had  not,  on  the  other  hand,  been  able  to  learn 
the  discipline  which  would  keep  them  from  wandering 
in  every  direction,  nor  to  rid  themselves  of  that  strange 
spirit  of  imitation   that   Panurge  observed  in  them. 

In  order  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  transports,  they 
left  the  guardianship  of  them  to  Dr.  MacGregor  and  the 
two  Hindus,  while  Merrien,  Plumptre,  Graec'h  the  Breton, 
and  Goulab,  hastened,  at  forced  march,  to  seek  the  young 
girl. 

From  time  to  time,  worn  with  fatigue,  the  little  troop 
called  a  halt  at  some  propitious   spot.      The  country  had 


A    CLOUD.  155 

a  somewhat  wild  but  singularly  rich  beauty.  Fixing  his 
eyes  upon  the  double  chain  of  moderately  high  summits 
that  separate  Dud-Kosi  from  Tomba-Kosi,  Merrien  could 
not  but  regret  that  this  fertile  region  should  lie  fallow, 
literally  abandoned  by  the  colonists. 

''Verily,  Plumptre,"  said  he,  ''this  country  is  a 
perfect  paradise.  We  are  marching  across  an  enchanted 
landscape,  intoxicated  by  the  fragrance  of  flowers  and 
fruits.  Nevertheless,  there  is  no  cultivation  to  make  the 
ground  fruitful,  and  its  products  are  owing  only  to  the 
lavishness  with  which  Providence  has  endowed  it." 

The  Scotchman  shook  his  head,  then  replied  very 
gravely  : 

"  It  is  somewhat  the  custom  in  France  to  decry 
England.  Nevertheless,  by  what  you  have  already 
seen,  by  what  you  are  still  seeing,  you  must  acknowl- 
edge to  yourself  the  service  that  England  renders  to 
humanity.  If  the  south  of  Nepal  is  repopulated,  if 
agriculture  again  flourishes,  if  the  mountaineers  are 
growing  gentler,  if  the  Gurkhas  are  crossing  the  fron- 
tier to  enlist  in  India,  and,  their  time  ,once  up,  bring 
back  to  their  country  the  idea  of  civilization,  is  it  not 
to  contact  with  England  that  all  this  progress  is  due  ? 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  mountains  which  are 
a  barrier  between  us  and  the  stationary  world  of 
China  have  nevertheless  afforded  passage  to  the  Chinese 
troops,  and  if  the  region  that  we  are  passing  through 
astonishes  you  by  its  solitude,  it  is  only  because  it 
has  been  the  scene  of  bloody  wars,  and  terrible  dev- 
astation. A  hundred  years  ago  the  Gurkhas  were 
vanquished  by  the  Tibetans  and  the  Chinese  combined, 
who  took  possession  of  Kerong,  of  Dudkunda,  and  of 
Naokot.    Since  that  time  the   valleys  of  the  seven  Kosi 


156  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

have  been  almost  abandoned.  If  England  takes  possession 
of  Nepal,  richness  and  joy  will  again  spring  up  in  these 
districts." 

"To  the  great  profit  of  Old  England,  is  it  not?"  re- 
torted Merrien  gayly  ;  "and  you  will  create  sanitariums 
on  the  slopes  of  Yassa,  of  Goussainthan,  of  Mayanama, 
and  of  Mergui,  while  the  Russians,  weary  of  Siberian 
cold,  will  come  to  take  a  sun  bath,  facing  you  upon  the 
southern  slopes  of  the  Kara-Koram,  and  Kuenlun  ranges." 

"The  Russians  ! "  exclaimed  the  officer,  with  equal 
gayety.  "1  hold  them  of  no  more  account  than  a  Euro- 
pean gean  [choke-cherry]  compared  to  a  Khatmandu 
cherry." 

They  were  chatting  thus  on  terms  of  the  most  jovial 
cordiality  when  suddenly  piercing  cries  attracted  their 
attention. 

They  had  traveled  a  dozen  kilometers  from  the  point 
of  departure.  The  road,  although  in  disrepair,  was  now 
straight  and  fine,  continually  swept  by  the  mountain 
winds.  It  now  extended  in  a  natural  embankment 
between  the  two  valleys,  covered  to  the  north  by  the 
enormous  mass  of  Goussainthan,  rising  imperceptibly  at 
the  east  toward  Mayanama,  across  the  snows  from  which 
no  human  eye  has  yet  been  able  to  discern  that  king  of 
giants,  the  Chingo-pa-mari  of  the  Tibetans,  the  Gaurisan- 
kar  of  the  Nepalese,  the  Everest  of  the  English.  From 
the  center  of  a  confused  mass  of  monstrous  excres- 
cences, some  rounded  like  a  dome,  others  cut  horizontally 
across  like  Table  Mountain  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
rise  a  dozen  white  heads  in  such  a  way  as  to  appear 
welded  all  together. 

There  was  the  unknown  one — the  goal  toward  which 
they  tended  ;  the  mysterious  mountain  that  scholars  have 


A   CLOUD.  157 

measured  from  the  Indian  plains,  but  whose  exact  posi- 
tion no  white  man,  no  Hindu  pundit,  has  been  able  to 
determine  in  the  chaos  of  eruptive  rocks,  in  the  midst 
of  the  giants  that  surround  it  as  if  they  would  hide  it 
from  sacrilegious  gaze. 

Now,  on  the  road,  about  two  kilometers  down,  a 
human  figure  was  moving,  running  toward  the  travelers. 
The  wind  which  blew  from  the  east  had  carried  its  cries 
across  the  majestic  silence  of  the  peaks.  As  yet,  neither 
the  features  nor  the  ethnological  characteristics  of  the 
person  could  be  distinguished,  but,  thanks  to  the  marvel- 
ous clearness  of  the  atmosphere  he  was  recognized  to 
be  an  Indian.  Who  was  this  man,  and  what  did  he 
want  ?    They  were  soon  to  be  informed. 

The  man  continuing  to  run,  and  the  explorers  hasten- 
ing toward  him,  it  was  not  more  than  ten  minutes  before 
they  met.  The  newcomer  had  torn  garments,  a  body 
covered  with  scars,  and  bloody  feet.  He  was  exhausted 
by  a  long  run,  and  his  lips  had  scarcely  uttered  the 
word,  ''Sahibs,"  when  he  gave  out,  and  fell  unconscious 
into  the  arms  of  Euzen  Graec'h. 

''Thunder!"  cried  the  sailor,  in  the  utmost  surprise. 
"  I  know  that  face.  It  is  Miss  Weldon's  little  Madrasi. 
So  !    the  little  fellow  isn't  dead,  then  ! " 


THE   THREE   RIFLES   THREATENED   THE   ASSAILANTS. 


X. 


BLOCKADED. 

The  first  moment  of  stupefaction  having  passed,  and' 
each  having  convinced  himself  that  the  Breton  was  not 
the  victim  of  an  hallucination,  they  hastened  to  lavish 
their  care  on  the  poor  child.  There  was  the  utmost  need 
to  revive  him,  to  restore  him,  and  to  hear  the  communi- 
cations he  was  about  to  make  to  the  travelers. 

Energetic  rubbing,  and  some  drops  of  rum  poured 
with  difficulty  between  his  teeth,  brought  him  to  his 
senses.  But  it  was  some  time  yet  before  the  little 
Madrasi  could  recover  the  use  of  his  tongue.  Although 
his  face  was  drawn  with  pain,  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears  at  his  sense  of  powerlessness  to  express  himself, 
and  his  gestures,  more  eloquent  than  explicit,  urged  the 
Europeans  on  to  the  northward.  Finally,  disconnected- 
words  sprang  from  his  oppressed  bosom. 

158 


BLOCKADED.  159 

''  Living  !  Ramu  !  Weldon  !  Quick  to  his  rescue  I 
Attacked  in  the  mountain  ! " 

That  was  enough  to  reveal  to  the  four  men  the 
general  import  of  what  he  had  to  say.  But  in  order 
to  avoid  a  misdirected  course,  and  fresh  loss  of  time, 
Merrien  imposed  silence  upon  Christi's  confused  demon- 
strations, and  questioned  him  methodically : 

''You  were  Ramu's  prisoner,  weren't  you?" 

'^Yes." 

''You  met  Weldon  and  his  two  companions?" 

"Yes." 

"  But,  at  the  same  time,  Ramu  and  his  men  have 
attacked  them  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"And  you,  you  escaped  to  warn  us?" 

"Yes." 

"Very  well,"  concluded  the  Frenchman.  "We  have 
not  an  instant  to  lose.  But  we  must  know  where  to 
find  our  imprudent  companion." 

The  little  Madras!  comprehended  the  question  put 
to  him  by  the  eyes  of  the  explorer.  He  extended  his 
hand  toward  the  road,  and  said  in  English  : 

"Three  miles — three  miles — about  five  and  a  half 
kilometers ! " 

Then  Plumptre  reached  him  his  gourd,  and  two  or 
three  biscuits,  also  a  leaf  of  his  memorandum  book  on 
which  he  had  hastily  scribbled  some  words.  Laying 
him  down  on  the  slope  of  the  road  in  the  shade  of  a 
bunch  of  cypress  trees,  he  told  him  to  await  the  pass- 
ing of  the  troop,  which  would  not  be  long  delayed.  He 
would  find  Dr.  MacGregor,  in  company  with  his  two 
Hindus  and  the  herdsmen.  The  child  moved  his  head 
in  assent.     He  smiled  to  reassure  his  friends  as  to  his 


i6o  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

condition,   and  commenced  to  bite    vigorously    into  the 

biscuit.      The  three     Europeans     and    Goulab,     loaded 

rifle  in   hand,  were    already    climbing    the    slope    with 
athletic  step. 

This  is  what  had  happened. 

Enchanted  with  her  bright  idea,  which  was  an 
amusing  piece  of  mischief,  Cicely  Weldon  had  meant 
to  carry  out  her  escapade,  and  put  as  great  a  distance 
as  possible  between  herself  and  her  companions. 

The  night  was  superb,  lighted  by  a  moon  which 
sent  into  strong  relief  ihe  slightest  projections  of  the 
rocks.  No  surprise,  no  ambush,  was  to  be  feared  under 
this  marvelous  radiance. 

So  the  little  group  rapidly  gained  ground  in  the 
direction  of  Pangmo,  a  most  wretched  village,  where 
they  arrived  at  daybreak. 

Pangmo  contained  barely  two  or  three  hundred  in- 
habitants, living  in  the  depths  of  wretched  hovels.  It 
was  a  degraded,  ferocious,  but  cowardly  population, 
which  did  not  attempt  any  attack  upon  resolute  people, 
unless  the  assailants  were  in  the  proportion  of  twenty 
to  one. 

The  perpetual  raids  of  the  Gurkhas  and  other  warrior 
tribes  of  Nepal  have  gradually  decimated  and  reduced 
this  degenerate  Metch  branch,  formerly  celebrated  for 
the  beauty  of  its  women,  in  whom  they  now  carry 
on  a  business,  selling  them  as  servants  or  odalisks  in 
all  the  markets  of  Tibet,  and  northern  India. 

Fortune  favored  Weldon  and  her  men  ;  entirely 
ignorant  of  this  peculiarity,  they  passed  through  the 
larger  part  of  the  settlement  under  cover  of  an  ob- 
scurity dense    enough    to    disguise    their  costumes  and 


BLOCKADED.  i6i 

their  personality.  Moreover,  very  few  of  the  women 
who  are  the  slaves,  or  rather  the  beasts  of  burden  of 
their  husbands,  had  commenced  household  labor  at  that 
early  hour. 

A  mile  further  up,  the  travelers  met  some  ragged 
children,  who  fled  at   their  approach,  uttering  loud  cries. 

Then,  from  the  hollow  of  a  valley,  they  saw  first  some 
heads  emerge  which  hastened  to  conceal  themselves.  But 
further  on  the  heads  showed  themselves  in  greater  num- 
bers, making  a  hostile  clamor. 

Disconcerted  for  a  moment.  Cicely  at  once  compre- 
hended that  she  must  let  nothing  appear  of  her  anxiety, 
and  that  the  best  way  to  force  respect  from  the  evil-dis- 
posed was  boldly  to  pursue  her  onward  march. 

Unfortunately,  the  light  in  the  sky  was  spreading,  and 
it  was  impossible  for  the  three  companions  to  disguise 
the  smallness  of  their  number. 

Suddenly,  at  a  turn  in  the  road,  a  herd  of  furious 
people  sprang  up,  brandishing  rifles  and  sabers,  and 
threw  themselves  in  front  of  the  three  travelers  with  such 
evidently  threatening  intentions  that  Cicely  stopped  and 
took  aim  with  her  carbine. 

"Ah!"  said  she,  speaking  to  her  nearest  neighbor, 
the  Yankee  of  German  descent,  "  these  are  not  people 
of  this  country.  1  recognize  our  Deorali  assassins. 
And  they  even  have  with  them  our  old  acquaintance, 
that  rascal  Ramu." 

The  two  Americans  had  imitated  their  companion's 
action.  The  three  extended  guns  threatened  the  assail- 
ants. 

But  what  could  two  men  and  a  woman— three  men, 
in  the  eyes  of  their  adversaries — do  against  fifty  fanatics 
animated  by  the  worst  possible  intentions  !     With  their 


1 62  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

backs  to  a  perpendicular  wall,  they  were  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  their  enemies,  however  little  these  might  make  use 
of  their  arms. 

One  circumstance  was  a  protection  to  them :  They 
had  to  do  with  the  worshipers  of  the  Fire  God,  with 
religious  murderers,  with  the  sect  of  the  Thugs,  or 
stranglers  ;  in  whose  eyes  the  act  of  slaying  a  human 
being  had  no  true  merit  unless  it  were  accomplished 
without  bloodshed,  or  at  least  without  blood  being  spilled 
at  their  hands.  Thus  were  explained  the  previous 
crimes  accomplished  by  Ramu  :  the  death  of  Gourap-Sing, 
thrust  by  him  between  the  teeth  of  the  daboias  ;  that 
of  the  Mussulman  saved  by  Dr.  MacGregor's  care,  and 
succumbing,  when  they  believed  him  to  be  healed,  to 
the  poisoning  of  his  wounds  with  the  juice  of  euphor- 
bia, or  upas. 

With  such  adversaries  they  could  defend  them- 
selves, if  they  could  keep  them  at  a  distance.  Still  there 
was  reason  to  fear  that  rather  than  let  their  victims  live, 
and  moved  by  the  spirit  of  self-preservation,  the  odious 
bandits  would  not  hesitate  to  have  recourse  to  the 
blade  and  the  bullet. 

In  a  few  moments  the  restless  eye  of  the  American 
Morley,  examining  the  smooth  walls  which  rose  behind 
him,  had  discovered  a  sort  of  fissure  between  the 
rocks.  About  this  fissure  one  could  see  a  heap  of 
rocks  forming  a  rough  staircase,  and  there  was  a  precious 
shelter  for  people  in  such  a  critical  situation.  He  rapidly 
pointed  it  out  to  Cicely,  saying : 

''  Miss  Weldon,  let  us  try  to  reach  that  corner.  There 
we  shall  be  covered,  and  shall  be  able  to  fire  from  there 
at  our  ease." 

The  young  girl  acquiesced   in  this   project ;  marching 


BLOCKADED.  i6 


o 


in  single  file  the  length  of  the  wall,  without  taking  their 
eyes  from  their  enemies,  all  three  endeavored  to  reach 
this  protecting  cliff.  As  if  they  had  guessed  their  inten- 
tions, the  Thugs  scattered  to  the  sides  of  the  road,  not 
quickly  enough,  however,  for  three  among  them,  struck 
by  avenging  balls,   fell  prostrate  in  the  road. 

Some  sixty  meters  separated  the  fissure  from  the 
three.  With  quiet  devotion  the  two  men  both  at  once 
declared  to  Cicely  their  intention  of  saving  her  first. 
The  latter  then  ran  to  the  fissure,  while  her  acolytes, 
watching  the  line  of  the  ridge,  used  their  arms  with 
effect,  bringing  down  two  new  assailants.  None  of  them 
had  been  able  to  foresee  the  trap  that  was  set  for 
them,  for  while  they  were  trying  to  gain  the  shelter, 
the  infernal  scoundrel  of  a  Ramu  had  been  laying  new 
plans.  Quicker  than  lightning,  two  of  the  Durga-Kali, 
entirely  naked  and  anointed  with  that  kind  of  grease 
which  renders  them  as  slippery  as  serpents,  had  scaled 
the  wall,  rounded  the  fissure,  and  squatted  down,  silk 
handkerchief  in  hand,  gag  between  the  teeth,  crouched 
like  tigers  ready  to  spring. 

Just  as  Miss  Weldon,  looking  straight  ahead  of  her, 
took  refuge  in  the  protecting  cranny,  two  nervous 
arms  suddenly  encircled  her.  A  hand  was  placed  upon 
her  mouth,  stifling  her  cries,  and  a  running  noose 
tightened  about  her  neck. 

Cicely  felt  herself  lost.  One  moment  of  prayer  in 
her  heart  and  upon  her  lips,  and  she  fell  swooning. 
One  of  the  assassins,  leaning  over  her,  laughed  in  tri- 
umph, and  taking  the  ends  of  the  handkerchief  passed 
between  them  a  fine  steel  bar,  designed  to  act  as  a 
lever  to  break  the  cervical  vertebras,  which  renders 
death    inevitable.      But    at    the    same    moment     some- 


1 64  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

thing  unexpected  happened  —  miraculous  succor  inter- 
vened. 

While  the  two  Hindus,  leaning  over  their  victim, 
prepared  to  consummate  their  crime,  a  third  Indian 
glided  from  behind  them.  This  one  seemed  to  fall  from 
the  perpendicular  wall.  He  held  in  his  hand  something 
brilliant  and  sharp,  a  Malay  kris  with  a  flat  blade 
grooved  on  the  under  side. 

The  newcomer  gave  one  bound.  His  knees  rested 
on  the  back  and  shoulders  of  the  Thug,  and  his  kris 
buried  itself  in  the  bandit's  neck.  The  man  fell  dead 
upon  the  body  of  the  unconscious  Cicely.  His  accom- 
plice, surprised  by  this  attack,  and  seeing  the  kris  raised 
above  his  head,  evaded  the  blow  and  leaped  in  terror 
out  from  the  cranny  upon  the  road.  He  had,  how- 
ever, only  jumped  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the  fire. 
He  had  literally  thrown  himself  into  Knebel's  arms. 
With  a  single  blow  of  the  butt-end  of  his  rifle,  the 
sturdy  American  crushed  the  bandit's  skull,  and  wild  with 
rage  over  the  unconscious  body  of  his  young  mistress, 
he  was  also  about  to  kill  her  savior,  but  the  latter 
sprang  in  front  of  him  and  seized  his  upraised  arm,  crying  : 

'' Knebel,  no  kill  me!  Me,  Christi,  no  dead.  No 
dead.  Sahib  Weldon.    Me  kill  Thug.     He  living." 

The  Yankee  gave  a  cry  of  joy,  and  embraced  the 
brave  little  Madrasi.  Then,  aided  by  his  companion,  who 
had  just  reached  the  shelter,  they  carried  Cicely  to  a 
cleft  in  the  rocks,  where  the  young  girl,  already  freed 
from  her  bonds  by  Christi,  finally  recovered  her  breath 
and  her  consciousness. 

As  soon  as  she  arose  she  warmly  thanked  the  brave 
child  whose  intervention  had  just  snatched  her  from 
death. 


CICELY    KKI.T    THAT    SHE    WAS    LOST. 


1 66  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

But  Christi  was  uneasy.  With  a  brevity  necessitated 
by  the  circumstances  he  explained  himself  to  his  com- 
panions. 

Some  twenty  meters  above  them  there  was  a  terrace 
backed  by  the  mountain.  It  was  reached  by  the  staircase 
of  rocks.  Once  there,  the  travelers  would  be  for  the 
moment  sheltered.  They  would  command  and  be  able 
to  watch  all  the  movements  of  their  adversaries.  As  for 
him,  he  would  go  back  to  the  road  by  a  detour  in  order 
to  notify  the  rest  of  the  column  to  come  as  quickly  as 
possible.  He  would  explain  to  them  later  the  miracle 
of  this  resurrection  when  they  should  have  time  for 
explanations. 

Every  bit  of  him  moved.  His  eyes,  his  mouth,  his 
gestures,  all  spoke  at  once. 

The  Americans  saw  that  his  advice  was  excellent,  and, 
letting  themselves  be  guided  by  him,  they  reached  the 
bluff  referred  to.  He,  then,  without  waiting  for  details, 
ran  along  the  ridge,  and  the  next  moment  his  three  com- 
panions could  see  him  running  at  the  top  of  his  speed 
beyond  the  most  distant  huts  of  Pangmo. 

As  the  child  had  said,  they  were  provisionally  out  of 
danger.  Behind  them  the  mountain  rose  in  a  perpendicu- 
lar wall  of  gneiss  and  mica  schist,  to  a  height  of  about 
three  hundred  meters,  a  single  peak  beyond  which  dipped 
the  valley  of  the  Tomba-Kosi.  At  their  feet  the  road 
unfurled  itself  like  a  ribbon.  Beyond  were  the  wooded 
banks  of  the  Dud-Kosi.  What  was  going  to  become  of 
them  upon  this  shelf  twenty  meters  in  height  ?  If  they 
could  see  their  enemies,  and  anticipate  treachery,  they 
were  none  the  less  spied  upon  themselves.  From  time 
to  time  a  brown  head,  a  white  spot  of  drapery,  was 
seen  between  the  rocks  and  trees.     There  was  no  possi- 


BLOCKADED.  167 

bility  of  doubt  that  the  aggressors  would  not  risk  an 
attack  in  broad  daylight,  and  even  by  night  such  an 
attempt  on  their  part  would  be  extremely  perilous. 

But  if  they  were  insured  against  the  malignity  of 
men,  they  were  by  no  means  so  much  so  against  the 
different  danger  of  a  siege. 

For  it  was  a  veritable  siege  that  they  were  about 
to  undergo,  and  with  no  resources  against  the  most  ter- 
rible of  possibilities,  the  point  of  death  by  hunger  and 
thirst. 

Cicely  and  her  two  companions,  counting  on  the 
speedy  arrival  of  Merrien  and  Plumptre,  had  brought 
nothing  in  their  knapsacks  but  some  biscuits,  some 
chocolate  tablets  and  kola  wafers.  If  they  were  not 
promptly  supplied  with  rations,  they  were  condemned 
to  die  there  on  that  bracket  of  stone,  after  suffering 
the  most  atrocious  torture,  unless  they  ventured  a  des- 
perate sortie  through  the  ranks  of  assassins.  Now,  by 
this  time  the  Sivaites  were  no  longer  alone.  They  had 
seen  their  number  rapidly  increase  with  all  the  contrasts 
furnished  by  the  savage  Buddhists  of  Pangmo.  These 
wild  Metchmen,  without  professing  the  murderous  creed 
of  the  worshipers  of  the  God  of  Death,  had,  neverthe- 
less a  way  of  their  own  of  eluding  the  precepts  of 
Kakya-Muni,  who  forbids  the  spilling  of  blood. 

Like  the  Burmanese  of  Akyab  and  of  Mandalay,  they 
neither  crushed  spiders  nor  venomous  Hies ;  they  drove 
the  cobra  di  capello  and  the  "  Belougas "  of  their 
gardens  into  those  of  their  neighbors  in  order  not  to 
violate  the  sacred  prohibition  ;  but  they  killed  their  fei- 
low-men  with  blows  of  club  or  sandbag;  they  buried 
them  alive  up  to  the  neck,  smearing  their  faces  with 
honey. 


1 68  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

A  hundred  of  these  brutes  had  just  joined  Ramu's 
desperados,  and  it  was  possible  that  they,  relying  upon 
their  number,  would  together  attempt  an  assault  upon 
the  intrenchment.  For  three  mortal  hours  the  besieged 
endured  that  frightful  suspense.  Each  of  them  ap- 
proached the  crest  in  turn,  and  looked  over  the  border 
of  rocks  the  better  to  perceive  the  disposition  of  the  enemy. 

Gun  in  hand,  ready  to  bring  down  the  first  venture- 
some spirit  that  should  attempt  the  stairway,  Cicely 
and  her  attendants  maintained  an  immobility  that  ren- 
dered them  safe  from  discovery,  while  they  were  pre- 
served from  the  possible  fire  of  the  assailants  by  the 
broken  rocks  which  formed  a  rampart  for  them. 

Suddenly  a  murmur,  proceeding  from  the  foot  of  the 
terrace,  warned  them  that  an  assault  was  about  to  com- 
mence. 

They  ran  to  the  wall  of  rocks,  and  could  see  twenty 
Metch  leaping  like  monkeys  along  the  projections  of 
the  abyss.  A  dozen  had  sprung  upon  the  outthrow  of 
rock,  and  were  running  rapidly. 

''Attention  !"  cried  Morley.  ''We  have  not  a  ball  to 
lose.  Aim  well,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  midst  of 
them." 

"Yes,"  added  his  comrade,  "but  let  the  first  of  them 
pass,  we  can  dispose  of  them  later." 

He  was  right.  In  the  fury  of  the  attack  the  ban- 
dits got  in  one  another's  way.  Four  of  them  took  the 
lead.  Six  others  piled  on  to  the  short  ladder,  mutually 
helping  each  other. 

It  was  the  second  group  that  was  made  a  target 
of    The  discharge  produced  an  astonishing  effect. 

All  were  struck  by  the  terrible  Remington  balls ; 
four  fell  dead  on  the  spot. 


BLOCKADED.  169 

The  two  men  who  brought  up  the  rear  fled  pre- 
cipitately, and  the  besieged  had  only  to  shoot  at  short 
range  the  four  bold  leaders  who  had  so  imprudently  ad- 
vanced. Unhappily  two  balls  missed  their  aim,  and  one 
of  the  robust  Yankees  was  obliged  to  throw  himself 
upon  the  ladder  in  order  to  beat  one  of  the  two 
fugitives  to  death  with  the  butt  of  his  rifle. 

"Three  and  four,  seven,  and  two  are  nine,"  counted 
the  Irish-American  philosophically.  ''Three  apiece. 
That  is  a  fine  beginning.  If  they  continue  in  this  way 
we  shall  massacre  them  in  detail  down  to  the  last 
one,  provided  that " 

"Provided  that— what  ?  "  asked  Cicely,  alarmed  by 
her  brave  companion's  anxious  intonation. 

"Provided  that  our  ammunition  does  not  give  out, 
for  there  are  more  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  of  them 
in  all."  They  went  back  behind  the  barrier  of  fallen 
rocks,  and  commenced  to  count  their  cartridges. 

"  I  have  twenty,"  said  Knebel,  "  leaving  a  hundred 
and  ten  in   round  numbers." 

"I— forty,"  seconded  Morley,  "leaving  seventy  if 
there  are  no    hitches.     And  you,  miss  ? " 

"Only  twenty-two,"  said  the  young  girl  in  a  tone 
of  profound  discouragement. 

"  Leaving  forty-eight.  That  is  rather  too  many. 
Let  us  say  thirty,  if  we  count  on  our  revolvers.  That 
is  still  too  many." 

They  had  not  finished  their  examination,  when 
frightful  cries  rang  out.  Seized  with  a  veritable  craze 
for  murder,  the  brigands  returned  to  the  charge.  But 
this  time  they  all  ran  to  it,  and  in  a  few  moments 
the  side  of  the  hill  was  covered  with  spots  of  black 
and  white. 


I70  THE  LAND  OF   TAU/NY  BEASTS. 

''I  believe  we  are  lost,"  said  Cicely,  her  voice 
trembling  a  little. 

And  turning  to  her  friends,  she  added  with  great 
firmness  this  time  :  ''  Remember  your  promise.  A  ball 
more  or  less  will  not  alter  our  fate.  And  you  know 
that  1  will  not  shrink.  There,"  said  she,  putting  her 
hand  back  of  her  head,  ''there,  where  the  white  silk 
turban  does  not  protect  the  neck." 

"Yes,  miss!"  said  the  German,  in  a  sorrowful  voice, 
with  a  sob  contracting  his  throat. 

''Come,  now  for  a  volley!"  commanded  the  brave 
girl.  But  what  was  this  single  fire  against  such  a  mass 
of  assailants.  Already  more  than  twenty  menacing 
arms  were  seizing  the  edges  of  the  rocks,  and  hideous 
faces,  grinning  with  joy  at  the  thought  of  the  mas- 
sacre,  were  rising  above  the  barrier. 

Suddenly  four  shots  coming  from  the  road  were 
repeated  with  unspeakable  power  by  the  echo  of  the 
peaks. 

"God  be  praised!"  cried  Cicely  piously.  "Here 
come  our  friends  !  " 

They  ran  to  their  observatory,  from  which  the  alarmed 
assailants  were  letting  themselves  drop  to  the  lower 
rocks,  and  they  were  able  to  contemplate  a  striking 
spectacle,  well  calculated  to  explain  the  panic  of  the 
copper-faced  rascals. 

Merrien,  Plumptre,  Graec'h,  and  Goulab  had  not  stopped 
running  since  the  moment  of  their  meeting  with  little 
Christi. 

It  was  at  this  precipitous  pace  that  they  had  come 
through  the  village  of  Pangmo,  from  which  the  men  had 
gone  forth  to  give  assistance  to  the  stranglers,  or  to 
share  in  the  spoils. 


BLOCKADED.  171 

Women  alone  were  left  in  the  viHage. 

At  the  sight  of  these  armed  white  men,  who  wore  a 
terrible  aspect  in  their  rage,  they  hurriedly  entered  their 
dwellings,  where  they  barricaded  themselves  as  well  as 
they  could. 

Certainly  none  of  the  four  travelers  thought  of  dis- 
turbing them  ;  they  had  too  much  to  do  elsewhere  in 
the  mountain. 

They  arrived  at  the  precise  moment  when  the  band 
were  rushing  to  a  general  assault. 

Then  it  was  that  from  the  height  of  their  intrench- 
ment,  the  besieged  heard  four  rifle-shots,  immediately 
followed  by  a  formidable  discharge,  of  which  each  shot 
made  frightful  ravages  among  the  enemy. 

These,  territled,  abandoned  the  attack,  and  fled  in 
every  direction. 

''To  the  rocks!"  cried  Plumptre,  with  the  voice  of 
command  that  he  knew  how  to  assume  at  the  head  of 
his  squadron. 

In  a  few  bounds  the  new  arrivals  were  in  the  melee. 

Without  reloading,  using  saber,  ax,  or  ritle-butt, 
they  cleared  their  way.  It  was  more  especially  Euzen 
Graec'h  who  accomplished  this  formidable  task.  His 
quasi-superhuman  strength  served  to  disperse  the  enemy 
even  more  by  the  fear  it  caused  than  by  its  own  per- 
formance. He  was  no  longer  a  man,  but  a  sort  of  god 
rushing  with  full  strength  upon  this  herd  of  brutes, 
hewing  off  heads  and  arms  with  his  ax,  from  which  the 
blood  streamed  down  his  arms,  upon  his  garments, 
transfigured  by  that  bloody  rain,  and  appearing  to  the 
slaughterers,  petrified  by  their  terror,  only  under  the  as- 
pect with  which  their  imaginations  invested  their  own 
divinity,  the  sinister  God  of  Death. 


172  THE  LAND   OF   TA[VNY  BEASTS. 

And  behind  him  Goulab,  full  of  admiration  for  this 
incomparable  power,  did  not  cease  crying  out  to,  the 
Sivaites  crazed  by  their  terror : 

"This  is  Rama,  newly  incarnated,  who  is  come  to 
punish  the  crimes  of  the  impious !  It  is  Vishnu,  who 
remembers  his  enemies  !  " 

In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  vicinity  of  the  rocky 
stairway  was  cleared,  and  the  four  newcomers  climbed 
up  to  join  their  companions. 

"Ah!"  cried  Merrien,  much  moved,  pressing  Cicely's 
hands.     "Thank  God,  we  arrived  in  time!" 

"And  above  all,"  added  Plumptre  almost  gayly, 
"do  not  undertake  any  more  escapades  to  punish  us 
for  wrangling  in  your  presence.  Such  experiences  cost 
too  dear !  What  would  have  become  of  us  if  we  had 
not  found  you  living  ?  " 

The  first  demonstrations  over,  they  began  to  think 
of  dividing  the  task  of  protection  and  surveillance.  The 
enemy  had  just  received  too  rough  a  lesson  to  dare 
risk  a  fresh  attack  so  soon.  They  had  prudently  taken 
refuge  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  under  shelter  of 
the  trees  which  cover  the  Dud-Kosi  slope.  But  it  was 
evident  that  they  had  not  lost  all  hope  of  renewing 
the  onslaught  with  a  prospect  of  success. 

"We  have,  indeed,  killed  or  wounded  from  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  men,"  said  Goulab;  "that  is  a  fifth  of 
their  effective  force," 

"  Even  add  to  that  the  fourteen  that  we  brought 
down  before  your  arrival,"  said  Cicley,  "and  you  will 
see  that  there  are  still  at  least  a  hundred." 

"No  matter!"  replied  the  shikari,  laughing,  "so  long 
as  they  see  Sahib  Graec'h  they  will  not  dare  return." 
And  the  brave  hunter  contemplated    in  amazement    the 


BLOCKADED.  1 72> 

taciturn  and  modest  Breton,  who  only  complained  of 
one  thing— of  not  having  water  at  hand  to  wash  his 
arms,  his  face,  and  his  garments,  splashed  with  the 
blood  of  the  bandits. 

''Those  rascals,"  he  grumbled,  "are  as  swollen  with 
venom  and  as  soft  as  vermin.  Their  brains  burst  out  like 
fire-crackers,  and  as  to  their  arms,  it  is  shameful,  they  do 
not  stick  to  their  shoulders.     At  every  blow  I  took  one  off." 

Everyone,  in  spite  of  the  gravity  of  the  situation, 
broke  out  laughing  at  this  sally.  Goulab,  who  had 
just  given  himself  over  to  worship  of  the  sailor,  sud- 
denly approached  him,  with  an  hilarious  aspect,  and 
with  joy  in  his  eyes.     He  said  to  him  : 

"Sahib  Graec'h,  you  are  looking  for  water.  There 
is  certainly  some  in  the  rock.  It  will  only  be  neces- 
sary to  break  it  a  little,  and  you  will  see."  And  he 
indicated  in  the  perpendicular  wall  back  of  them  a 
sort  of  vein,  grayish  red  in  color,  and  very  glittering. 

Putting  the  hand  upon  it  one  felt  the  humidity  in 
it.  There  must  be  under  the  coating  of  mica  schist 
and  silex  an  abundant  ooze  due  to  the  penetration  of 
the  snow  accumulated  on  the  summit,  and  descended 
therefrom  as  in  a  Paris  or  London  conduit.  "Well!" 
cried  the  major,  "if  we  are  condemned  to  die  of  hunger 
upon  this  ledge,   at    least  we    shall    not  die  of  thirst." 

Immediately  axes  and  cutlasses  came  into  play.  But 
only  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  the  wall. 

The  herculean  arm  of  Euzen  soon  caused  the  vein 
to  bleed  as  he  had  recently  made  the  bodies  of  the 
Sivaites  to  bleed.  A  stream,  troubled  and  yellow  at 
first,  soon  clear  and  limpid,  of  exquisite  flavor  and  cool- 
ness, poured  out  of  the  hole,  and  a  thread  of  crystal 
commenced  to    run    regularly    and    uninterruptedly. 


174 


THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 


''Good  luck!"  said  Merrien,  in  high  spirits.  "There 
are  no  microbes  in  that,  as  in  the  water  of  the  Seine 
that  my   Parisian   countrymen  are  having." 

*' Humph!"  said  Piumptre,  in  the  same  tone,  'Mf 
the  microbes  are  not  in  the  water,  they  are  not  very 
far  from  it ;  and  without  speaking  of  the  villainous  beasts 
who  are  in  the  surrounding  woods,  the  sun  will  take 
care  to  draw  bacilli  from  all  the  blackguards  whom  we 
have  sent  to  the  devil." 

This  speech,  in  spite  of  its  gayety,  recalled  the  trav- 
elers to  the  discomforts  of  their  situation.  It  was  not  a 
cheerful  one.  There  were  seven  of  them,  and  the  sup- 
plies that  the  latest  comers  had  brought  with  them 
would  sustain  them  for  two  days,  or  three  at  most. 
Furthermore,  they  had  neither  tents  nor  coverings,  nor 
utensils  of  any  sort,  and  after  having  suffered  the  in- 
tense heat  of  the  sun  by  day,  they  would  have  to 
undergo  by  night  the  terrible  variations  of  temperature 
that  render  ascents  so  fatal. 

Goulab  went  to  take  an  observation  from  the  height 
of  the  rampart  of  rocks,  and  returned  with  lowering 
brow  and  saddened  eye. 

''We  are  decidedly  blockaded!"  he  said. 


ffij'*. 


■-''f'^'f^'"'''' 


THE  TROOP  APPROACHED. 


XI. 


THE   DHOLES. 

Day  was  meanwhile  advancing,  and  the  sun  was 
rising  rapidly  to  the  zenith,  increasing  the  heat  to  frightful 
proportions. 

A  profound  anxiety  had  come  over  the  besieged. 
Independently  of  the  difficulties  of  their  own  position, 
they  were  full  of  apprehensions  concerning  the  fate  of 
the  doctor,  of  the  two  Hindus,  one  of  whom  was  the 
cook  Salem-Bun,  and  of  the  little  Christi. 

''What  is  going  to  become  of  our  poor  friends?" 
said  Miss  Weldon,  much  afflicted.  "There  is  certainly 
no  other  road  than  this,  and  the  shepherds  will  not  be 
i  long  in  appearing  ;  this  will  be  the  signal  for  these  fanatics 
to  throw  themselves  on  the  doctor ;  and  our  poor  little 
Christi,  after  having  served  us  so  generously,  will  have 
escaped  death  only  to  become  again  the  prey  of  these 
monsters." 

175 


1/6  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

GoLilab  shook  his  head,  and  answered  the  young  girl 
as  follows  : 

"Have  no  anxiety  concerning  Christi.  If  they  have 
spared  him  they  have  a  reason  for  so  doing.  He  is  for 
them  henceforth  consecrated.  Do  you  not  know  that  the 
man  who  escapes  death  by  the  noose  is  forever  covered  by 
the  protection  of  Kali  ?  A  Thug  would  be  flayed  alive,  and 
even  lose  his  caste,  rather  than  lay  a  sacrilegious  hand 
upon  the  victim  that  the  goddess  has  reserved  to  herself." 

''Ah!"  exclaimed  Cicely,  ''that  is  a  very  curious 
detail,  of  which  1  was  ignorant !  My  dear  Goulab,  what 
a  singular  people  you  are  !  " 

The  shikari  drew  himself  up  proudly,  but  like  an 
educated  and  well-bred  man,  he  bowed  again,  his  hand 
upon  his  heart. 

"  Lady,"  he  said,  "there  are  many  instances  of  igno- 
rance among  your  '  civilized '  peoples !  There  is  not  one 
race  merely,  but  a  thousand,  in  India.  As  for  me,  1  am 
an  Aryan  like  yourself,  a  Rajput,  one  of  those  who  form, 
ever  since  Rama,  the  noblest  of  the  families.  But  1  am  a 
Kashmiri,  while  that  abominable  Ramu  is  a  Dogra ;  1 
belong  to  the  order  of  Vishnu,  and  he  worships  Siva. 
And  besides  these  differences,  how  many  more  could  1 
not  point  out  to  you  that  would  still  more  astonish 
you!  But,"  he  added,  "it  is  neither  the  time  nor  the 
place  for  an  historical  dissertation.  The  most  pressing 
need  is  that  of  providing  some  way  of  averting  danger 
from  the  doctor,  Salem-Bun,  and  the  other  one.  I  still 
hope  that  the  Bathia  will  have  scented  danger,  and  taken 
precautions  for  the  safety  of  his  companions,  unless  he 
has  chosen  to  abandon  the  Tinki-la  road." 

Goulab  suddenly  stopped  speaking,  and  inclined  his 
ear,  making  a  sign  to  his  companions  to  listen  also. 


THE  DHOLES.  177 

The  rays  of  the  sun  lighted  the  entire  landscape  to  a 
very  great  distance,  and  the  view  was  marvelous.  With 
the  exception  of  the  northern  horizon,  which  was  hidden 
from  them  by  the  enormous  wall  that  rose  behind  them, 
the  travelers  beheld  at  all  three  remaining  cardinal  points 
an  incomparable  panorama.  Human  eye  has  never  con- 
templated a  more  beautiful  spectacle,  and  this  was  only 
a  foretaste  of  what  might  be  reserved  for  them  upon 
the  crest  of  Gaurisankar. 

No  cloud,  no  mist,  trailed  across  the  broadly  lighted 
planes  of  the  landscape,  and  it  seemed  as  though,  by  the 
stroke  of  a  magic  wand,  some  friendly  fairy  had  suddenly 
raised  the  veil  which  covered  these  sublime  regions,  to 
spread  their  innumerable  beauties  before  human  eyes. 

To  the  south,  beyond  the  valley  of  Tomba-Kosi,  clad 
with  luxuriant  vegetation,  stretched  the  cliffs  that  descend 
to  the  plains  of  the  Ganges  ;  at  the  west  was  Goussainthan, 
six  thousand  or  seven  thousand  meters  in  height,  with 
the  snows  of  the  peaks  of  Kerong  sparkling ;  to  the  east, 
the  whole  Mayanama  group  rose  above  the  clouds,  and 
from  the  center  of  this  prodigious  mass  a  diamond  spire 
sprang  up,  cleaving  the  blue  heavens.  This  was  the  sov- 
ereign of  the  land  ;  the  Gaurisankar  toward  which  the 
untiring  efforts  of  the  travelers  were  directed. 

And  upon  the  crest  that  they  had  just  left  a  cloud 
of  dust  rose  from  the  great  road,  and  from  this  cloud 
came  a  long  rattling  sound,  the  bleating  of  three  thou- 
sand sheep  mingled  with  barking,  and  the  tinkling  of  the 
bells  that  the  herdsman  had  fastened  to  the  necks  of  the 
rams. 

"There  they  are  !  It  is  they  !"  cried  Goulab  at  last, 
his  piercing  eye  penetrating  the  horizon.  The  cloud 
approached.     It  could  be  seen    to    extend,   to    separate, 


178  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

to  expand  to  either  side  of  the  road,  on  the  slopes  of  the 
two  valleys  whose  verdure  suddenly  disappeared  under 
the  invasion  of  this  living  stream.  The  ground  vibrated 
under  the  shock  of  all  these  little  cloven  feet  running 
or  bounding  in  an  aggregate  that  would  cause  a  Pont- 
Neuf  to  give  way.  Finally  with  opera  glasses  and 
spyglasses  they  were  able  to  distinguish  objects  among 
the  dense  crowd.  It  could  be  seen  that  the  flock  ap- 
proached rapidly.  It  passed  Pangmo,  and  the  noise  of 
the  bleating  was  accompanied  by  the  lowing  of  the 
few  oxen  and  cows  which  followed  the  mass  of  sheep. 
Soon  the  head  of  the  column,  preceded  by  a  dozen 
dogs,  arrived  at  the  very  foot  of  the  intrenchment,  and 
the  besieged  could  not  restrain  a  cry  of  surprise  upon 
perceiving  that  neither  the  doctor,  nor  Christi,  nor  the 
two  Hindus  were  among  the  number. 

Nevertheless,  they  were  certainly  the  same  herdsmen 
and  the  same  flock.  With  scrupulous  honesty  the 
herdsmen  stopped  the  animals  which  bore  the  baggage, 
and  soon  as  they  recognized  the  white  men  upon  the 
rocks  they  placed  their  cargo  upon  the  road.  As  there 
was  no  immediate  danger  to  fear,  Graec'h  and  the 
two  Yankees  hastened  to  go  and  fetch  the  things  left 
on  the  path.  They  even  exchanged  some  words  with 
the  leader  of  the  Bhotan  nomads.  But  at  the  question 
they  put  to  them  concerning  the  doctor  and  his 
companions,  the  Bhotias  burst  out  laughing  and  re- 
plied : 

''You  haven't  seen  them,  then?  They  are  already 
among  you  ! "  And  they  spoke  the  truth.  A  cry  of 
joy  had  burst  forth  from  the  platform,  and  when  the 
Breton  and  the  two  Americans  had  remounted  to  the 
terrace,   they  were  able  to   join    in    the    heartfelt    con- 


THE  DHOLES.  179 

gratulations  that  the  doctor  and  his  companions  were 
lavishing  upon  one  another. 

The  explanation  was  very  simple.  The  wind,  coming 
from  the  east,  had  brought  to  the  shepherds,  far  up 
the  ridge  path,  the  sound  of  the  firing. 

"Our  friends  are  having  a  fight  somewhere!" 
the  physician  had  cried. 

And  from  the  information  given  by  the  little  Mad- 
rasi,  all  concluded  that  a  combat  must  be  going  on 
on  the  sides  of  the  terrace  where  Christi  had  left  them. 
If  they  succeeded  in  joining  them  the  besieged  would 
have  four  more  rifles  at  their  service,  which  was  a 
strong  re-enforcement,  increasing  their  number  from  seven 
to  eleven. 

But  what  was  more  important,  the  arrival  of  the 
four  new  combatants  would  have  the  immense  advan- 
tage of  bringing  the  baggage,  that  is  to  say,  clothing, 
tents,  food,  and  ammunition,  of  which  they  would  have 
the  utmost  need. 

That  indeed  was  their  special  cause  for  concern. 

Now,  would  they  be  able  to  rejoin  the-ir  companions? 

Was  there  not  reason  to  fear  that  the  assailants, 
foreseeing  the  coming  of  the  flock,  might  advance  to 
meet  it,  in  order  to  capture  or  kill  the  remainder  of 
the  column  ?  This  hypothesis  had  every  appearance  of 
probability. 

Happily  the  Bhotan  herdsmen,  as  cunning  as  they 
were  true  to  their  word,  were  posted  as  to  the  situa- 
tion. The  chief  decided  it,  laughing.  With  his  ordinary 
gay  brevity  he  informed  the  four  travelers  as  to  the 
mode  of  procedure  they  had  best  follow.  This  was  a 
revival  of  the  artifice  of  Ulysses  desiring  to  escape  from 
the    cave    of   Polyphemus,    and    certainly    the    nomadic 


i8o  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

shepherd  had  never  read  the  Odyssey.  But  he  had  had 
long  training  in  the  niceties  of  his  trade,  and  was  provided 
with  more  than  one  trick  to  play  upon  the  annoying 
customhouse  officials  of  Tibet  and  Nepal. 

They  led  out  four  zebus  from  among  the  other  beasts 
of  burden.  They  placed  the  doctor  and  his  companions 
upon  their  backs — in  very  uncomfortable  positions,  by 
the  way.  They  even  added  very  inconvenient  packages, 
and  hid  all  under  the  coverings  of  red  or  white  wool,  so 
frequently  used  by  trading  caravans.  Thus  disguised,  the 
travelers  could  cross  the  threatening  belt  with  impunity. 

On  the  road  the  leader  of  the  flock  responded  as 
simply  as  he  could  to  the  first  Metch  who  asked  him 
what  had  become  of  the  other  white  travelers : 

''They  remained  at  Dud-Kunda.  1  did  not  agree  to 
keep  them  or  conduct  them." 

As  soon  as  the  troop  reached  the  foot  of  the  intrench- 
ment,  Christi,  who  had  continually  peeped  from  under  his 
coverings,  let  himself  slide  quickly  from  the  hard  back  of 
his  mount,  and  ran  to  the  aid  of  his  companions. 

Now  all  were  reunited ;  the  staff  was  quite  complete. 
But  they  were  not  at  the  end  of  their  troubles.  They 
were  certainly  more  numerous,  better  armed  ;  they  cer- 
tainly had  supplies  for  at  least  ten  days,  tents  and  cov- 
erings for  the  night ;  but  they  were  none  the  less  block- 
aded, and  must  anticipate  and  undergo  the  pains  and 
fatigues  of  a  siege  that  might  last  a  long  time. 

''  How  lucky  those  fellows  are ! "  said  the  major, 
clenching  his  fists  as  he  watched  the  shepherds  and  their 
flock  go  up  the  road  again. 

Suddenly,  coming  to  a  bend  in  the  road,  the  Bhotias 
turned  toward  the  north,  descending  the  Dud-Kosi  slopes. 
They    had    held   faithfully    to    their    bargain.     Nothing 


THE  DHOLES.  i8r 

would  prevent  them  now  from  proceeding  by  the  short- 
est way  to  the  Tinki-la  pass. 

The  besieged  experienced  deep  sadness  at  seeing' these 
half-savages  disappear,  who  had  been  for  ten  days  their 
true  and  tried  associates. 

It  was  like  the  eclipse  of  a  hope  for  them,  especially 
as  their  thoughts  returned  to  the  bitterness  and  difficulty 
of  their  present  position. 

The  route  that  the  herdsmen  followed  so  lightly  was 
closed  to  them,  friendly  travelers  far  from  all  support,  far 
from  all  succor  on  the  part  of  local  authorities,  and  they 
could  only  open  it  at  the  cost  of  a  bloody  combat  such 
as  they  had  already  undergone,  of  a  victory  that  might 
be  dearly  bought. 

The  day  closed  with  these  painful  reflections.  But  all 
possessed  a  sturdy  spirit,  and  were  confident  in  their  own 
energy.  The  goal  they  had  desired  to  reach  was  too 
near,  their  resolution  too  firm,  for  them  to  hesitate  in 
their  decision. 

They  therefore  took  counsel  at  sunset  in  order  to 
conclude  all  arrangements  for  the  morrow. 

They  unanimously  decided  that  at  daybreak  they 
would  resume  their  march. 

To  remain  where  they  were  offered  no  advantage. 
Besides  having  no  succor  to  expect,  they  would  lose 
precious  time  and  uselessly  waste  their  provisions. 
Goulab  very  justly  remarked  that  the  rocky  mass  by 
which  they  were  backed  was  only  a  freak,  and  that 
it  must  certainly  terminate  some  kilometers  further  up ; 
that  the  level  they  had  reached  was  apparently  the 
highest  that  could  be  attained  by  the  Hindus  or  even  the 
Nepalis  of  the  valley  ;  that  is  to  say,  by  men  who  were 
unaccustomed  both  by  temperament  and  constitution  to- 


l82  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

the  cold  of  the  peaks,  and  too  lightly  clad,  moreover,  to 
dare  to  face  it,  and  they  would  be  under  protection  as 
soon  as  they  touched  the  snowy  region. 

Thus  all  militated  in  favor  of  bold  decision.  Plump- 
tre  and  Euzen  Graec'h  even  pronounced  in  favor  of 
immediate  departure.  But  they  were  m.ade  to  realize 
that  this  would  be  the  height  of  imprudence ;  that 
they  knew  nothing  at  all  of  the  ambushes  of  the  road 
and  the  perils  of  a  nocturnal  journey. 

There  was  no  attack.  The  bandits  had  manifestly 
become  prudent  through  counting  their  losses  and  esti- 
mating the  frightful  precision  of  firearms.  But  this 
abstention  and  silence  only  appeared  the  more  disquiet- 
ing to  the  explorers,  and  they  did  not  relax  their  rigid 
watchfulness. 

Finally  day  dawned — a  radiant  day,  full  of  brilliancy. 
The  Mayanama's  bulk  first  showed  black,  then  white  and 
red  in  the  pale  light  of  the  dawn.  Then,  as  the  sun  rose 
in  the  firmament,  the  incomparable  giant,  the  throne 
of  Siva  and  Parvati,  appeared  in  the  blue  like  a  snowy 
phantom,  with  shoulders  upon  which  a  collar  of  gold, 
rubies,  topazes,  and  opals  radiated  color  under  a  canopy 
of  turquoise  and  sapphire. 

The  moment  had  come  to  launch  themselves  bravely 
toward  those  heights. 

But  at  this  very  moment  a  furious  clamor  broke 
forth,  and  rising,  as  they  had  done  the  day  before,  from 
the  wooded  slopes,  the  brigands,  Sivaites  and  Buddhists, 
with  no  distinction  of  belief,  united  by  a  common  thirst 
for  murder  and  pillage,  rushed  to  the  assault,  veritable 
maniacs  who  had  vowed  themselves  to  Yama,  God  of 
Sacrifice  and  Voluntary  Death,  hastening  to  a  paradise 
of   orgies  or  to    the  repose    of  Nirvana.     At    the    first 


THE  DHOLES.  183 

glance  that  he  threw  upon  the  convulsed  faces  of  those 
demoniacs,  wild  for  carnage,  Goulab  turned  toward 
Merrien,  and  pointing  toward  the  hideous  herd,  brand- 
ishing all  sorts  of  arms  as  it  ran,  uttered  the  one  word  : 

"Opium!" 

Yes,  it  was  opium  that  had  transfigured  and  trans- 
formed these  savages ;  that  had  given  them  their  mad 
courage;  stripping  from  them  even  their  respect  for  their 
odious  religious  practices.  And  it  was  now  that  the 
danger  was  most  terrible,  for  they  had  renounced  the 
merits  of  bloodless  murder,  and  were  about  to  give 
themselves  up  to  the  profane  joys  of  massacre. 

A  hundred  men,  at  least,  threw  themselves  upon  the 
plateau  on  which  the  travelers  awaited  them. 

Divided  into  three  groups,  the  latter  met  the  attack 
with  a  triple  discharge. 

Eleven  of  the  fanatics  fell  senseless.  But  at  the 
same  instant,  six  balls  passed  over  the  heads  of  the 
besieged.  A  seventh,  rebounding  from  the  wall  of 
gneiss,  grazed  the  naked  calf  of  Goulab's  leg,  leaving  a 
bleeding  furrow.  The  shikari  did  not  make  a  moan,  but 
he  muttered  between  his  teeth  : 

"It  is  nothing,  nothing  !  Barely  a  scratch  !  But  they 
shall  pay  dear  for  it." 

He  kept  his  word.  Three  times  in  succession  the 
carbine  of  the  valiant  Chatrya  was  extended,  and  three 
Sivaites  fell. 

"Attention!"  cried  Merrien;  "only  aim  at  those 
who  carry  rifles.  They  are  at  present  the  most 
formidable." 

These  tactics  certainly  produced  excellent  results.  In 
a  few  moments  a  dozen  marksmen  were  put  hors  de 
combat,   and  they  had  for  the    most    part    only    to    do 


1 84  THE  LAND   OF    TAiVNY  BEASTS. 

with  the  body  of  fanatics  armed  with  sabers,  poniards^ 
or  nooses.  Nevertheless  their  number  was  not  per- 
ceptibly diminished,  and  there  came  a  moment  when 
the  three  groups  were  forced  to  form  themselves  into 
a  square,  in  order  that  they  should  not  be  broken  up 
by  the  onset  of  the  aggressors. 

Suddenly,  Euzen  Graec'h  gave  a  cry  of  fury  : 

"Oh,  for  once  1  will  not  miss  thee!" 

He  had  just  perceived  Ramu  hardly  thirty  steps  away, 
exciting  his  followers  to  combat.  To  throw  himself  upon 
the  assailants,  to  crush  skulls  and  spines  with  the  butt  of 
his  clubbed  rifle,  was  mere  play  to  the  Breton.  For  a 
single  second  his  iron  hand  clutched  the  scoundrel's 
shoulder,  but  it  only  left  the  mark  of  its  five  fingers  upon  the 
brown  skin  of  the  Dogra,  who  fled  at  this  terrible  touch. 

At  the  same  time  ten  of  the  Thugs  rushed  together 
upon  the  Hercules. 

Merrien,  Plumptre,  and  the  doctor  at  once  plunged 
forward  to  extricate  their  friend.  It  was  unnecessary. 
With  a  titanic  movement  Graec'h  shook  off  the  bunch 
of  humanity,  staved  in  a  chest  with  a  blow  from  his 
heel,  broke  a  jaw  with  his  left  fist,  and,  letting  his 
carbine  drop,  seized  a  third  body  at  hazard,  and  flung 
it  full  at  the  band  of  Thugs,  who  were  overcome  with 
panic.  He  himself  got  clear  at  slight  cost,  merely  a 
scratch  or  two.  Then  came  something  utterly  unex- 
pected. Suddenly  the  assailants  turned  and  fled,  letting 
themselves  roll  down  the  rocks  with  every  sign  of 
violent  terror. 

Three  among  them,  who  had  not  time  to  escape^ 
flung  themselves  upon  the  ground,  face  downward, 
multiplying  gestures  of  supplication,  to  the  great  aston- 
ishment of  the  white  men. 


THE  DHOLES.  185 

As  they  did  not  rise,  one  of  the  Americans  asked  : 

"Shall  we  crush  these  vermin?  If  they  think  we  are 
going  to  let  them  alone " 

But  Goulab  raised  his  voice,  and  his  companions  were 
surprised  by  the  terror  in  his  face. 

''Sahibs,"  cried  the  shikari,  ''we  shall  have  no  more 
to  fear  from  these  scoundrels.  At  present  they  are  stream- 
ing down  the  mountain  at  the  top  of  their  speed.  Un- 
fortunately we  are  threatened  by  a  much  greater 
danger." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Goulab?"  asked  Merrien  anx- 
iously. 

"  1  mean  that  the  bandits  have  fled  from  something 
stronger  than  themselves.  Only  listen,  and  you  will  hear 
the  voice  of  the  dholes." 

All  paused  and  listened,  without  paying  any  further 
attention  to  the  three  wretches  who  were  still   prostrate. 

A  distant  mournful  cry  came  down  the  flanks  of  the 
chain  from  the  east.  It  was  a  sort  of  lugubrious,  pro- 
longed howl,  and  in  spite  of  the  distance,  which  was 
still  great,  that  separated  it  from  the  travelers,  the  latter 
could  recognize  the  multitudinous  clamor  of  wild  dogs, 
traveling  in  troops.    They  must  be  innumerable. 

The  dholes,  in  fact,  belong  to  the  canine  race,  and, 
like  all  the  Indian  fauna,  they  represent  the  most  terrible 
element.  Of  medium  size,  thin  and  lank,  dirty,  and 
emitting  a  pestilential  odor,  they  would  be  hardly  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  an  ordinary  dog,  were  not  their 
strange  habits  and  their  number  truly  frightful.  They 
are  nomadic,  live  in  families,  and  are  as  fitted  to  endure 
the  most  vigorous  cold  as  the  most  extreme  heat ;  travers- 
ing the  Indian  peninsula  from  north  to  south,  from  east 
to  west.    Always  famished,  necessity  makes  them  brave. 


1 86  THE  LAND   OF   TAU^NY  BEASTS. 

Nothing  holds  out  against  them,  and  certain  travelers 
affirm  that  they  do  not  even  fear  the  tiger  and  the  ele- 
phant. But  these  are  tales  that  it  is  impossible  to  verify, 
and  one  may  consider  fabulous  that  other  assertion  that 
the  dhole  seems  rather  to  profess  sympathy  for  man. 

One  may  cite,  unfortunately,  examples  of  villages 
besieged  and  boroughs  destroyed  by  these  frightful  ani- 
mals. The  energetic  measures  taken  by  the  English 
authorities,  the  use  of  strychnine  in  pieces  of  meat  placed 
in  the  pathway  of  the  troop,  have  succeeded  in  almost 
entirely  banishing  them  from  southern  India.  But  these 
means  are  far  from  being  equally  efficacious  in  the 
north,  where  dense  forests,  continuous  jungles,  and  vast 
uncultivated  and  desert  spaces  prevent  the  trail  of  the 
devastating  herd  from  being  traced. 

Whatever  might  be  the  manners  and  customs  of  these 
dangerous  neighbors,  the  explorers,  not  trusting  to  hy- 
pothesis, resolved  to  surround  themselves  with  all  possible 
precautions.  The  plateau  on  which  they  were  situated 
was  accessible  only  on  the  side  of  the  rocky  stairway. 
The  remaining  sides,  almost  perpendicularly  cut,  had  lent 
some  aid  to  the  ascent  of  human  assailants.  But  the 
dogs  certainly  could  not  fare  so  well.  If  then  they  suc- 
ceeded in  sufficiently  barricading  the  one  side,  they  would 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  yelping  herd,  and  they 
would  be  able  to  look  down  from  the  terrace  in  all 
security  upon  the  canine  pariahs  as  they  swept  past. 
It  would  certainly  be  a  curious  sight.  Meanwhile,  the 
noise  increased  and  drew  nearer.  The  horrible  pack  came 
down  the  mountain  with  a  sound  like  rolling  thunder. 
They  raised  a  cloud  of  dust  equal  to  that  raised  the  day 
before  by  the  passage  of  the  Bhotan  sheep.  At  the  same 
time  the  barking    of   the    pack    took    on    a    formidable 


THE  DHOLES.  187 

intensity.  The  air  was  full  of  it,  and  the  abominable 
hubbub  obliged  the  onlookers  to  put  their  hands  over 
their  ears. 

''  It  is  lucky  that  they  are  coming  with  the  wind," 
said  Goulab.  ''Perhaps  they  will  pass  without  scent- 
ing us  !  " 

Everyone  had  run  to  the  rocks.  With  desperate 
haste  they  commenced  to  move  the  blocks,  and  roll 
them  one  on  top  of  the  other  to  obstruct  the  passage- 
way. Euzen  Graec'h,  while  shaking  the  biggest  one  of 
all,  suddenly  remembered  the  three  assassins.  They  had 
not  budged  from  their  place,  face  to  the  earth,  arms 
crossed,  like  dead  bodies. 

''  Heh  !  Shammers  !  heap  of  good-for-nothings  !  " 
cried  the  sailor,  in  a  voice  that  made  the  travelers  burst 
out  laughing  in  spite  of  their  anxiety. 

''Come  here  for  a  bit  and  help  us!  We'll  pay  you 
whatever  suits  you,  villainous  monkeys  without  a 
skin." 

And,  as  the  Hindus  did  not  appear  to  hear  him,  he 
went  up  to  them  and  kicked  them  into  rising. 

"  That  is  the  only  way  to  get  ideas  into  your  heads," 
he  said. 

The  demonstration  had,  indeed,  an  immediate  effect. 

Enlightened  by  the  gestures  of  the  Europeans,  further 
reassured  by  the  words  of  Goulab,  Christi,  Salem-Bun,- 
and  his  comrade,  who,  in  order  to  make  them  under- 
stand, employed  nearly  all  the  dialects  of  India,  they 
passed  from  fright  to  delirious  joy,  and,  laughing  and 
weeping  at  one  and  the  same  time,  they  devoted  them- 
selves with  as  much  docility  as  energy  to  the  task  that 
the  travelers  required  of  them. 

"  Come  !  come  !  "  said  the  Breton,  somewhat  softened, 


i88  THE  LAND   OF   TAiVNY  BEASTS. 

''they  are  not  bad  fellows.  With  some  blows  from  a 
rope's  end,  and  some  kindness,  they  would  do  whatever 
you  wanted  them  to." 

"We  are  fourteen  now,"  said  the  doctor.  "I  con- 
fess that  this  addition  to  our  force  does  not  displease  me." 

But  conversation  came  to  an  end.  There  was  too 
much  to  do  to  stop  up  the  last  crevices  of  the  rocks, 
and  unfortunately  no  human  strength  was  capable  of 
moving  the  enormous  blocks  that  overhung  the  road. 
There  still  remained  a  breach,  a  meter  in  width.  It 
was  more  than  sufficient  to  admit  the  dogs. 

The  howling  was  not  more  than  two  miles  away, 
and  the  eye  could  behold  the  first  undulating  waves 
of  this  living  sea. 

They  all  looked  at  one  another  in  consternation. 

''May  God  have  mercy  on  us!"  uttered  Plumptre 
gravely.  "  I  know  too  well  what  these  brutes  are.  I 
was  once  near  being  devoured  by  them." 

"What  are  we  to  do?"  asked  Miss  Weldon. 

"  Wait !  "  answered  Jean  Merrien. 

An  enormous  rock,  of  at  least  five  thousand  kilo- 
grams in  weight,  was  hanging  to  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  attached  only  at  its  base. 

The  explorer  went  and  got  from  among  the  baggnge 
a  carefully  closed  iron  box.  He  opened  it  and  drew 
out  a  little  tube  of  tin  provided  with  a  rather  long 
fuse,  and  introduced  it  into  a  crack  in  the  block.  Then 
he  waited,  a  box  of  matches  in  his  hand. 

Now  they  could  no  longer  hear  one  another,  the 
yelping  so  drowned  their  voices,  filling  the  air  with 
discordant  noises. 

The  pack  arrived,  panting,  starving,  like  a  tremendous 
tide. 


THE   ENTIRE   PACK   PASSED, 


I90  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

From  their  position  in  the  shelter  of  the  rocks  the 
travelers  saw  this  barking  wave  sweep  on.  They  saw 
the  inflamed  eyes  and  mouths,  the  hanging  tongues, 
the  breath  giving  out  steam  and  vile  odor.  At  the 
same  time  the  filthy  herd  seized,  tore,  and  scattered  in 
a  thousand  shreds  the  bodies  of  the  Hindus  who  had 
been  slain  by  the  white  men  and  abandoned  on  the 
road  by  their  brethren.  This  occupied  only  a  few 
seconds,  and  the  dogs,  like  the  African  termites,  left  no 
trace  of  the  bodies ;  they  passed,  swept  on  by  the 
rapidity  of  their  course. 

But  behind  the  first  ones  the  mass  was  denser, 
more  swarming,  blacker.  The  dholes,  jostling  and 
hustling  one  another,  sent  out  wings  to  their  army. 
One  flank  rolled  over  the  slopes  of  Tomba-Kosi  under 
the  trees.  The  other,  thrown  against  the  wall  of  the 
mountain,  crowding  and  fighting  with  teeth  and  paws, 
found  the  cleft  in  the  rocks,  as  water  that  has  broken 
its  dike  fills  all  the  hollows  that  it  finds.  They  strug- 
gled and  piled  themselves  into  the  narrow  passage,  and 
twenty  bloody  mouths  showed  their  gleaming  teeth 
above  the  first  rocks. 

Jean  Merrien  struck  his  match.  He  held  it  to  the  fuse. 
They  heard  a  hollow  sound — an  ominous  cracking.  The 
wall  split  asunder,  and  the  rock  was  torn  from  the  trench 
of  gneiss,  of  which  it  formed  a  part,  leaving  the  place  as 
empty  and  fresh  behind  it  as  the  stump  of  a  recently 
amputated  limb.  It  fell  exactly  across  the  narrow  entrance, 
crushing  a  dozen  of  the  wild  dogs,  while  a  frightful  re- 
port shook  the  layers  of  ambient  air. 

This  unexpected  thunder  rendered  the  travelers  good 
service.  Panic-stricken  by  such  a  crash  as  they  had 
never  before  heard,  the  dholes   hastened  their   pace,  and 


THE  DHOLES.  191 

the  entire  pack,  silent  with  terror,  passed  as  quickly  as  a 
rapid  train  over  the  road,  fleeing  in  the  direction  of 
Pangmo,  and  were  soon  blotted  out,  buried  in  the  opaque 
cloud  of  dust  raised  by  their  dizzy  flight. 

The  travelers  raised  their  eyes  and  their  hearts  toward 
heaven.  They  were  saved.  After  having  delivered  them 
from  the  Thugs,  the  wild  dogs  had  just  given  them  their 
liberty. 

As  a  measure  of  prudence,  they  waited  an  hour  before 
setting  out.  But  Goulab  pointed  out  to  them  that  meet- 
ing with  a  second  pack  was  very  improbable.  Three 
thousand  dogs  at  least  had  just  passed  under  their  eyes. 
What  other  troop  would  be  able  to  find  food,  coming  after 
these  ? 

The  day  was  advanced  when  they  sallied  forth.  No 
suspicious  sign  came  to  reawaken  their  anxiety.  Toward 
evening  they  stopped  to  sleep  in  the  little  town  of  Khansa, 
whose  governor  received  them  kindly.  They  had  well 
earned  their  rest. 


THE  CARAVAN  CROSSED  ON  THE  LARGE  STONES. 


Xll. 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI. 

Upon  leaving  Khansn,  the  travelers  still  followed  for 
some  time  the  road  on  which  they  had  come  from  Dud- 
kunda.  This  road  that  lay  along  a  ridge  commanded  a 
valley  upon  either  side.  Through  each  of  these  valleys 
wound  a  stream,  the  Tomba-Kosi  on  the  right,  the 
Dud-Kosi  on  the  left,  both  flowing  down  from  the  same 
mountain.  The  slope  was  steep,  and  seemed  entirely 
unsuited  to  a  descent.  They  agreed,  therefore,  to  con- 
tinue, as  long  as  they  could  do  so  without  delaying  their 
arrival,  on  the  road  that  they  had  chosen.  When  they 
arrived  at  Gama,  the  first  village  that  they  came  to  after 
leaving  Khansa,  the  information  that  was  given  them 
apprised  them  of  the  f^ict  that  the  road  parted  abruptly  in 
two  directions.  In  fact,  instead  of  running  from  west  to 
east  according  to  its  first  direction,  it  made   a  bend   and 

sank  toward  the  south. 

192 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI.  193 

''Well,  my  dear  Frenchman,"  questioned  the  major 
gayly,  ''what  are  we  to  decide  upon?" 

"Well,  major,"  responded  jean,  in  the  same  tone, 
"it  seems  to  me  that  we  can  no  longer  follow  this 
road." 

"At  least  not  without  turning  our  backs  upon  our 
goal  ;  that  is  also  my  opinion." 

"And  you,  mademoiselle,  what  do  you  propose?" 
asked  the  young  man,  in  his  turn. 

"There  is  only  one  reply:  we  must  now  resign 
ourselves  to  the  abandonment  of  outlined  paths  and 
advance  directly  to  our  goal." 

In  uttering  these  last  words  the  young  girl  had 
raised  her  head.  They  could  read  in  her  eyes  that  the 
suggestion  she  had  just  made  did  not  terrify  her ;  that 
she  was,  in  a  word,  completely  decided  to  proceed  to 
the  end. 

Her  opinion  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  hence- 
forth the  little  band  confronted  the  dangers  and  delays 
concealed  among  the  inaccessible  mountains.  The  first 
difficulty  that  presented  itself  was  the  necessity  of  cross- 
ing the  Dud-Kosi. 

After  much  searching,  a  Hindu  finally  discovered  a 
path  descending  toward  the  valley.  This  path,  which 
had  never  been  used  save  by  some  inhabitants  of  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  when  going  to  Gama,  was 
barely  indicated.  The  almost  perpendicular  descent  would 
have  been  impossible  to  the  Europeans,  if  some  trees 
scattered  along  the  way  had  not  enabled  them,  by  attach- 
ing a  cord  thereto,  to  improvise  a  sort  of  balustrade,  by 
which  Miss  Cicely  Weldon,  Major  Plumptre,  and  Jean 
Merrien  let  themselves  slide  almost  to  the  bottom.  And 
now  that  the  river  confronted  them,  deafening  them  with 


194  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

the  noise  of  its  current,  they  questioned  anxiously  how 
they  were  going  to  get  across  it. 

From  the  height  at  which  they  had  been  some  mo- 
ments before,  it  had  seemed  to  them  a  little  stream,  with 
its  waters  flowing  gently  over  a  shallow  bed ;  and  they 
now  beheld  an  impetuous  torrent,  whose  windings  of  a 
moment  ago  had  become  roaring  rapids. 

It  was  again  Miss  Weldon  who  succeeded,  by  means 
of  signs,  in  making  her  companions  understand  that  a  ford 
must  be  somewhere  near  the  path. 

They  resumed  their  march,  and  presently,  indeed, 
some  large  flat  stones  emerging  from  the  waters,  and 
making  a  very  picturesque  bridge,  served  as  a  crossing 
for  the  caravan. 

The  ascent  resembled  the  descent,  thanks  to  the  trees 
which  fringed  the  slope  as  on  the  opposite  bank.  Above, 
the  country  which  stretched  before  the  travelers'  vision 
was  slightly  undulating,  now  hills,  now  valleys,  but 
everywhere  carefully  cultivated.  Fields  of  wheat  alter- 
nated, when  the  ground  inclined,  with  fields  of  rice, 
and  for  a  boundary  between  them,  cherry  trees  and  fig 
trees  arose,  breaking  the  monotony  of  the  landscape. 
The  travelers  entered  these  plantations  resolutely,  march- 
ing straight  ahead  without  encountering  a  single  habi- 
tation. They  concluded  that  this  cultivated  land  must  all 
belong  to  one  estate,  and  that  they  would  sooner  or 
later  come  to  the  house  of  the  proprietor. 

But  what  was  their  surprise  when,  after  having 
gone  a  considerable  distance,  they  found  themselves 
again  upon  a  road,  that  was  very  well  kept  up  for 
the  region.  Their  indecision  was  great.  Which  direc- 
tion should  they  follow  ?  After  much  deliberation  the 
little    band    started    on    again,   following  the  road,   and 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARL  1 95 

hoping   to    come   across  some  village,  or  at  least  some 
habitation. 

Their  expectations  were  not  disappointed,  for  they 
arrived  in  this  way  at  Lanya.  They  learned  there  that 
the  road  led  to  Ghat,  the  nearest  station  of  the 
Mayanama  Mountains,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  the 
summit  of  Gaurisankar.  They  learned  besides  that  the 
domain  they  had  come  through  belonged  to  an  English- 
man by  a  special  concession,  and  on  condition  of  keep- 
ing up  the  road.  This  caused  Merrien  some  disturbance 
of  mind,  and  he  could  not  refrain  from  making  a  little 
attack  upon  Major  Plumptre. 

*'Say,  now,  Plumptre,  1  have  but  one  dread  left." 

''What  is  it,  then  ?"  asked  the  major  phlegmatically. 

''That  1  may  find  an  Englishwoman  on  Gaurisankar." 

This  sally  made  everyone  laugh,  the  major  most 
heartily  of  all. 

"In  truth,"  he  replied,  "if  I  were  sure  of  it,  1 
would  cease  my  efforts  here  and  now,  and  patiently 
await  your  return  at  the  house  of  my  fellow-country- 
man." 

"  Why,  major !  "  asked  Cicely,  "are  you  already  tired 
of  your  trip  ?  " 

"No,  Miss  Weldon,  no  !  I  was  simply  replying  to 
Mr.  Merrien,  who  always  finds  a  joke  on  me  in  order." 

Some  hours  later  the  travelers  came  in  sight  of 
Ghat,  situated  at  the  foot  of  an  almost  isolated  peak. 
They  followed  the  road  a  little  longer,  and  finally 
abandoned  it  definitely,  and  plunged  into  the  chain 
which  contained  their  goal.  From  this  time  on  they 
kept  always  to  the  north.  But  their  march  became  more 
and  more  laborious  because  of  the  unprecedented  heights 
that  they  were  obliged  to  scale,   or  the  rapid  descents 


196  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

they  were  forced  to  make.  The  great  humidity  of  the 
climate  does  not  admit  of  travelers  venturing  far  into  these 
regions,  or  at  all  events,  it  renders  any  excursion  very 
dangerous.  The  rain  softens  the  soil,  and  forms  a  sort  of 
glutinous  mud,  on  account  of  the  argillaceous  nature  of 
the  rocks.  The  dense  fogs  that  close  abruptly  in  about 
the  mountain  prevent  the  tourist  from  ascertaining  his 
position,  and  hide  from  him  the  precipices  that  yawn  at 
his  feet.  This  danger,  which  the  caravan  had  up  to  this 
time  always  avoided,  either  by  taking  refuge  in  caves  or 
going  into  camp  on  some  sheltered  plateau,  put  them  at 
one  time  in  very  great  peril.  It  was,  perhaps,  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  travelers  were  chatting 
gayly  as  they  followed  a  very  narrow  ledge  bounded  on 
one  side  by  a  stretch  of  vertical  wall,  and  on  the  other 
by  a  precipice  some  hundred  meters  in  depth.  Goulab 
had  seemed  anxious  all  day. 

''Come  now,  Goulab,  my  friend,  what  a  funereal 
countenance  !  Tell  us  what  is  troubling  you,"  asked 
MacGregor. 

''The  road  is  long!"  the  shikari  replied  laconically. 

"Well,  my  friend;  more  so  than  any  other?  And 
then  it  has  the  advantage  of  being  flat." 

"Flat,  but  narrow,"  replied  Goulab,  again.  "And 
then,"  he   continued,  "do    we   know  where  it  ends?" 

"  The  deuce  !  We'll  soon  see,  Goulab.  We  are  not 
yet  blind,"  Merrien  interposed  brusquely. 

"If  we  do  not  become  so,  sahib  !  " 

Jean  had  not  time  to  respond,  when  the  whole  troop 
stopped,  dumb  with  terror.  A  mist  was  slowly  rising, 
and  the  neighboring  summits  had  already  disappeared. 
They  all  understood,  and  a  single  cry  broke  from  their 
full  hearts : 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI.  197 

"The  fog!" 

They  comprehended  the  horrible  position  in  which 
they  were  placed,  on  a  ledge  where  they  could  barely 
walk  four  abreast,  with  no  possibility  of  raising  their 
tents. 

What  would  become  of  them,  not  daring  to  stir, 
not  able  to  see  a  meter  ahead  of  them  ? 

Goulab's  grave  voice  was  again  heard. 

''Well,  sahib;  are  we  not  blind?  This  is  what  I 
anticipated." 

"Why  didn't  you  say  so  sooner,  Goulab  ?  And  now 
what  are  you  going  to  do  ?  "  the  young  man  questioned 
anxiously. 

"1  am  going  to  take  the  lead  and  show  you  the 
road,"  replied  the  shikari  quietly. 

"No,  no,  Goulab!  1  do  not  wish  it.  It  is  exposing 
yourself  uselessly." 

"I  risk  nothing,  sahib,"  replied  the  Kashmiri,  with 
emotion.  "  Let  us  now  march  in  single  file,  and  keep 
our  left  hands  against  the  wall." 

In  this  way,  without  a  word,  Goulab  leading, 
Merrien,  Cicely,  Plumptre,  Christi,  MacGregor,  and  the 
rest  of  the  troop  slowly  advanced  ;  starting  at  the  least 
projection  of  the  rocks.  It  made  them  dizzy  to  think 
that  the  road  might  grow  narrower ;  that  they  had  only 
room  for  their  two  feet ;  that  a  movement  might  fling 
them  into  space. 

Suddenly  a  terrible  cry  pierced  the  fog.  They  all 
stopped,  gasping. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Goulab. 

"I  do  not  know,"  replied  Merrien.  "Let  each  one 
speak  his  name  in  turn."  And  they  heard  successively 
the    names     of    Cicely,     Plumptre,     MacGregor,     Euzen 


198  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Graec'h,  and  the  Hindus.  One  name  only  was  missing 
from  the  roll,  that  of  Christi. 

''The  poor  child,  he  has  fallen,"  murmured  Cicely 
faintly.  "And  to  think  that  we  can  do  nothing, 
nothing !  " 

'Mt  is  useless  to  go  on,  my  friends,"  continued 
Jean  Merrien.  ''We  must  wait  here  until  the  fog 
breaks.  Possibly  Christi  is  not  dead.  It  would  be 
inhuman  to  abandon  him." 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  let  us  wait !  "  the  troop,  who  were  all 
attached  to  the  little  Madrasi,  responded  as  with  one 
voice. 

And  they  all  gathered  together.  They  wished  to  be 
near  one  another  in  this  common  danger.  It  is  impossible 
to  describe  the  night  that  followed.  Standing  upright 
with  their  backs  to  the  mountain,  and  an  abyss  in  front 
of  them,  unable  to  relax  themselves,  the  unfortunate  group 
awaited  the  daylight.  Morning  came,  bringing  no  change, 
and  then  broken  with  weariness,  despairing,  having  had 
no  nourishment  since  the  day  before,  the  travelers  felt 
that  they  were  giving  out.    Complaints  were  heard. 

"1  am  too  tired,"  murmured  Cicely;  "1  must  lie 
down.     1  can  stand  up  no  longer." 

"  Mademoiselle,  Miss  Cicely,  courage  ! "  broke  in  the 
major  and  Jean  at  the  same  time. 

"  I  cannot  bear  it  any  longer ;  no,  1  cannot,"  the  young 
girl  repeated. 

"Hold  on,  Miss  Cicely,  the  fog  is  breaking  at  last." 
it  was  Euzen  Graec'h  who  spoke. 

It  was  the  truth.  The  opaque  mass  of  vapor  grew 
more  translucent,  after  the  fashion  of  the  gauze  curtains 
of  the  theater  that  are  raised  one  after  another  and  reveal 
the  background  by    degrees.      The    web    grew    thinner, 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI.  199 

separated  in  slabs,  in  shreds,  which  drifted  off  like  thin 
smoke. 

Soon  the  heads,  then  the  shoulders  of  the  travelers 
emerged  from  this  smoke.  It  sank  lower  still,  to  their 
waists,  to  their  feet.  Then  above  their  heads  they  saw 
the  incandescent  disk  of  the  sun,  and  the  incommensu- 
rable point  of  Everest,  three  thousand  meters  up  in  the 
heavens,  while  below  them  the  fog  unfurled,  undulating 
like  an  ocean  on  the  submerged  peaks  and  valleys. 

Thus  must  the  survivors  of  the  Ark,  stranded  on  the 
Armenian  height,  have  beheld  the  spectacle  of  the  globe 
emerging  from  the  waters  of  the  deluge. 

At  the  same  time  that  hope  re-entered  their  hearts, 
the  imposing  vision  of  these  gigantic  mountains  dazzled 
their  eyes.  They  had  never  yet  contemplated  such  a 
panorama.  Their  ecstasy  had  lasted  a  long  time  without 
their  even  recalling  their  situation  when  Euzen  Graec'h 
suddenly  cried  out : 

"Christi!    1  see  Christi  !  " 

They  started  as  from  out  of  a  dream.  The  anguish 
of  the  night  had  caused  them  to  forget  the  little  Madrasi. 
Their  eyes  were  simultaneously  lowered,  and  in  place  of 
the  abyss  which,  the  evening  before,  had  bounded  the 
ledge,  they  saw  only  a  gentle  declivity  sloping  down  to  a 
sort  of  broad  esplanade.  Upon  this  esplanade,  stretched 
out  among  the  ferns,  lay  Christi,  who  seemed  to  give 
no  sign  of  life.  Then,  without  a  word  spoken,  they 
all  ran  rapidly  down  the  slope,  and  grouped  themselves 
anxiously  about  Christi,  impatiently  awaiting  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  MacGregor,  who  was  kneeling  at  the  child's 
side. 

''This  will  amount  to  nothing,"  he  said  finally; 
''a    prolonged    swoon    that    1  shall    bring    him  out    of." 


200  THE  LAND   OF    TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

And  taking  a  bottle  out  of  his  little  traveling  case,  he 
poured  a  few  drops  of  its  contents  between  the  boy's 
teeth. 

The  effect  of  the  cordial  was  soon  seen.  After  one 
or  two  starts  Christi  opened  his  eyes,  astonished  to  find 
himself  thus  surrounded  by  his  friends.  He  tried  to  move, 
but  a  sharp  pain  suddenly  contracted  his  features,  and 
he  fell  back  again. 

*'  Dear  me,  doctor  !  If  only  the  f^ill  has  caused  no 
grave  injury  ! "  exclaimed  Cicely,  in  an  anxious  voice. 

''Reassure  yourself,  Miss  Weldon,"  replied  MacGregor, 
"he  is  only  suffering  now  from  the  general  numbness 
caused  by  this  damp  night,  like  the  rest  of  us  ;  and  we 
shall  do  well  to  look  for  a  more  propitious  place  for 
a  little  repose." 

At  these  words  Jean  Merrien  and  Euzen  Graec'h 
took  the  lead,  while  Major  Plumptre  offered  his  arm 
to  Cicely,  and  the  two  Hindus  with  infinite  care  lifted 
Christi,  whom  everyone  had  believed  to  be  dead. 

They  had  not  taken  fifty  steps  when  Merrien  and 
Euzen  turned  back,  wearing  an  hilarious  aspect. 

"  Come,  come,  quickly  ;  1  have  just  discovered  a  pal- 
ace ! "  cried  jean  gayly.  At  this  puzzling  remark,  the 
little  band  forgot  its  fatigue  and  quickened  its  pace, 
soon  joining  the  young  man,  who  guided  it  toward  a 
mass  of  verdure,  an  oasis  in  the  midst  of  these  moun- 
tains They  paused,  filled  with  admiration.  In  a  recess 
of  the  rocky  wall,  a  little  open  space  appeared.  And 
growing  at  hazard,  but  in  a  most  charming  disorder, 
were  palm  trees,  banana  trees,  rhododendrons,  anc^ 
epiphytal  orchids  attached  to  the  branches  of  a  majestic 
oak. 

This  occurrence,   which   is  not  so  very    rare,   is    ex- 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI.  201 

plained  by  the  transportation  of  tropical  flora  by  the 
south  winds. 

Jean  Merrien  let  them  admire  this  little  enchanted 
nook  at  their  leisure,  then,  in  a  solemn  voice,  he 
cried  out : 

''  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  1  have  promised  you  a  pal- 
ace :  1  am  going  to  keep  my  promise.  This  is  only  the 
garden. '  Be  kind  enough  to  follow  me." 

And  this  time,  hastening  to  Miss  Weldon's  side,  he 
gracefully  offered  his  arm,  on  which  she  placed  her  little 
hand,  laughing  as  she  did  so.  Then  the  two,  at  the  head 
of  the  caravan  which  followed,  curious  and  impatient,  ad- 
vanced toward  an  opening,  which  was  reached  by  means 
of  two  steps  placed  one  above  the  other,  and  hollowed 
out  in  the  rock  as  though  by  the  hand  of  man.  This 
opening  had  escaped  their  notice  at  first,  masked  as  it 
was  by  the  more  luxuriant  vegetation  of  this  place. 
Merrien  brushed  aside  the  growth  and  led  in  the  young 
girl,  who,  struck  with  admiration,  stopped  abruptly,  while 
all  the  others  of  the  party  followed  her  example  as  one 
man.    Jean  and  his  faithful  Breton  enjoyed  their  surprise. 

In  truth  the  spectacle  was  positively  riiarvelous.  The 
travelers  found  themselves  in  a  circular  grotto,  the  rocky 
walls  of  which  were  of  a  blood-red  color.  In  the  center 
stalactites  and  stalagmites,  meeting  each  other,  formed 
columns  elegant  in  shape,  which  seemed  to  support  the 
roof.  This  latter,  at  the  center  of  this  circle,  rose  suddenly, 
and,  from  the  height  of  the  cupola  thus  formed  fell  a 
cascade,  the  waters  of  which  were  scattered  in  mist  by 
the  time  they  reached  the  ground.  The  daylight  came 
through  round,  regular  fissures.  The  ardent  rays  of  the 
sun,  streaming  in  through  these,  broke  on  every  drop  of 
water,  and  lit  a  thousand  fires  in  the  crystals  of  the  col- 


202  THE  LAND   OF    TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

umns.  The  entire  grotto  was  illumined  by  the  incessant 
flashing.  And  the  dazzled  eye  seemed  to  see  in  this 
richness  of  light  the  fires  of  a  myriad  of  diamonds. 

The  first  moment  of  surprise  past,  exclamations  rose 
to  the  lips  of  all. 

''  How  beautiful  it  is !  How  did  you  discover  this 
marvel  ?  Ah,  M.  Merrien,  you  are  a  veritable  en- 
chanter !  " 

This  last  sentence  came  from  Cicely  Weldon,  who 
was  already  running  about  the  grotto  like  a  child, 
calling  her  companions  to  share  in  her  enthusiastic 
admiration. 

It  was  decided  that  they  should  remain  at  least  two 
days  in  the  "Fairy  Palace,"  as  the  young  American 
poetically  named  it.  Christi,  who  had  been  comfortably 
settled,  found  himself  completely  restored  the  following 
morning.  He  was  able  to  join  the  others  in  exploring 
the  thousand  nooks  and  crannies  of  this  incomparable  place. 

The  third  day  finally  dawned,  and  it  was  with  re- 
gret that  the  little  group  abandoned  the  refuge  filled 
with  the  coolness  they  had  had  so  little  chance  to 
enjoy.  They  found  themselves  once  more  upon  the 
mountain,  with  its  wearisome  ascents  and  perilous 
descents. 

As  they  advanced  into  the  Mayanama  range,  the  peaks 
rose  steadily  higher  and  more  arid.  They  sometimes 
marched  for  a  number  of  days  without  a  sign  of  human 
habitation.  The  narrow  valleys  are  veritable  funnels  in 
which  are  gathered  the  waters  of  the  showers,  so  that 
cabins  cannot  be  put  up  for  fear  of  inundations,  and  the 
best  sites  for  the  erection  of  villages  are  the  high  prom- 
ontories from  which  the  water  runs  rapidly  in  all  direc- 
tions. 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARL  203 

Twenty  times  they  were  obliged  to  flee,  abandon 
their  camp,  and  climb  the  side  of  a  cliff  in  haste,  to 
avoid  the  sudden  flooding  of  a  torrent  swollen  by  the 
rain.  In  this  way,  forced  to  long  detours  and  unexpected 
tacking,  they  arrived  at  the  Thung-Lung  pass.  Since 
crossing  the  Dud-Kosi  they  had  described  a  semicircle 
about  Chingo-pa-mari,  and  it  was  by  such  turnings,  but 
continually  narrowing  the  circles  as  in  a  monstrous 
labyrinth,  that  they  must  reach  the  foot  of  Gaurisankar. 

In  the  midst  of  the  Thung-Lung  pass  a  new  peril 
awaited  them.  It  was  decreed  that  they  should  escape 
none  of  the  dangers  with  which  these  mountains  abounded. 
One  evening,  when  they  had  camped  in  the  cleft  of  a 
rock,  a  dark  mass  interposed  suddenly  between  the  road 
they  had  just  left  and  the  retreat  they  had  chosen. 
The  opening  was  obstructed  by  an  elephant  of  gigantic 
size,  and  with  long,  black  hair.  The  travelers  were  safe 
in  their  little  cave,  for  the  elephant  could  not  enter  its 
mouth,  which  was  large  enough  for  the  passage  of  a  man, 
but  much  too  narrow  for  such  a  colossal  creature.  But 
if  the  pachyderm  could  not  altogether  enter,  he  could 
without  difficulty  seize  the  things  which  had  been  spread 
out  by  the  Hindus  in  preparation  for  the  supper  and  the 
night's  rest.  Already  his  enormous  trunk  had  carried  off 
a  cake  of  rice  and  two  bottles  of  wine.  The  rest  was 
quickly  taken  to  the  back  of  the  grotto,  but  the  elephant, 
furious  at  finding  nothing  more,  commenced  to  puff  into 
the  travelers'  faces  a  fetid  breath  that  filled  the  entire 
cavity.  It  was  impossible  to  remain  longer  in  such  a 
place,  and  Jean  Merrien,  Major  Plumptre,  MacGregor, 
Euzen  Graec'h  started  to  attack  the  dangerous  probos- 
cidean, when  Christi  cried  out : 

''An  exit  !    1  have  found  an  exit  !" 


204  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

And  with  nervous  hands  he  cleared  an  opening  in 
the  rock  large  enough  for  a  man  to  slip  through.  One 
by  one  they  went  out  by  way  of  this  passage,  and 
joined  each  other  on  a  platform  which  was  in  reality 
the  roof  of  the  cavern  they  had  just  been  in,  and  from 
which  they  now  looked  down  upon  the  elephant. 

The  latter,  furious  at  seeing  his  prey  escape  him, 
started  to  make  an  attempt  to  reach  them.  His  weight 
dragging  him  down  for  one  thing,  the  very  steep  slope 
for  another,  caused  him  continually  to  f^ill  back  to  the 
point  he  started  from. 

The  travelers,  recovered  from  their  first  fright,  now 
were  laughing  heartily  at  the  fruitless  efforts  of  their 
formidable  adversary,  when  suddenly  the  scene  changed. 
The  elephant  had  finally  hoisted  himself  on  to  a  lower 
ridge  ;  a  moment  more,  and  he  would  reach  them.  Mac- 
Gregor  raised  his  rifle,  took  an  instant's  aim  ;  then 
fired,  but  only  wounded  the  animal.  Excited  by  the 
shot,  the  elephant  concentrated  his  entire  force  upon 
one  supreme  attempt,  and  with  a  single  bound  stood 
beside  his  enemies. 

''Fly!  fly!"  cried  Christi.  ''Here  is  a  path  which 
leads  to  the  road  we  were  just  now  on." 

And  taking  the  lead  he  ran  rapidly  down,  followed 
closely  by  the  Hindus  and  the  rest  of  the  company. 
Cicely  Weldon,  Jean  Merrien,  and  Plumptre  came  last 
of  all.  The  two  men  took  the  young  girl's  hands  and 
dragged  her  rapidly  along,  while  the  pachyderm,  unde- 
cided in  his  mind,  finally  concluded  to  pursue  them, 
giving  them  a  few  moments'  headway.  It  was  then  a 
mad  race,  no  one  daring  to  stop  to  attack  the  animal 
who,  moment  by  moment,  gained  upon  the  rear  fugitives. 
Cicely  felt  him    at  her  heels,    and    from  time    to    time 


tfc.^^^-^^ 


CICELY    FELT   THE   ELEPHANT    AT    HER    HEELS. 


206  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

his  hot  and  nauseating  breath  struck  her  neck  and 
those  of  her  companions. 

With  extended  trunk  the  elephant  was  about  to 
catch  the  girl's  floating  blouse,  and  then  all  effort  on 
the  part  of  Jean  and  the  major  would  be  in  vain  :  the 
unfortunate  girl  would  be  crushed  by  the  formidable 
tusks,  when  suddenly  Plumptre  dropped  Cicely's  hand. 
She  looked  anxiously  at  him,  without  pausing  in  her 
running.  An  atrocious  suspicion  gnawed  at  her  heart. 
Did  he  wish  to  relinquish  her  and  thus  be  freer  to  escape  ? 
At  this  thought  her  courage  left  her,  her  strength 
failed  her. 

Merrien  felt  her  pace  slacken.  He  also  had  seen  the 
major's  movement. 

''One  more  effort,  mademoiselle,  just  one  little  effort. 
/  want  to  save  you,"  he  murmured  in  the  young  Ameri- 
can's ear. 

But  what  could  he  do  ?  A  double  cry  was  heard. 
The  elephant  had  just  seized  the  girl,  who  clung  desper- 
ately to  the  Frenchman's  arm.  And  while  all  stopped, 
dumb  with  horror,  a  shot  rang  out,  the  trunk  relaxed  its 
hold,  the  colossal  brute  wavered  and  fell  in  a  heap,  a 
stream  of  blood  trickling  down  l:>etween  his  eyes. 

All  this  happened  in  much  less  time  than  it  takes  to 
tell  it.  And  it  was  not  until  they  saw  their  terrible  ad- 
versary lying  at  their  feet,  that  they  thought  to  find  out 
who  had  been  Miss  Weldon's  brave   and   skillful   savior. 

Cicely,  still  trembling  with  emotion,  scarcely  able  to 
support  herself,  and  unconscious  of  what  was  going  on 
around  her,  fixed  her  eyes  mechanically  on  the  still 
smoking  rifle  of  the  Englishman.  She  comprehended 
everything ;  a  great  thankfulness  and  a  great  remorse 
filled  her  heart. 


THE  CHINGO-PA-MARI.  207 

She  advanced  smiling,  held  out  her  hand  to  the  major, 
and  said  to  him  so  low  that  no  one  heard  her : 

"Thanks,  thanks,  and  pardon!" 

They  all  approached  to  congratulate  the  brave  officer, 
while  he,  distraught,  heard  the  congratulations,  un- 
heeding. 

Why  had  she  asked  his  pardon  ?  Yes,  pardon  ;  he  had 
certainly  heard  correctly.  What  could  she  have  done  to 
say  such  a  thing  as  that?  He  decided  to  think  no  more 
of  it.  He  was  never  to  know  what  had  inspired  Cicely 
Weldon  to  such  strange  thanks. 

The  Hindus  had  thrown  themselves  upon  the  ele- 
phant's body  and  were  cutting  him  to  pieces  with 
incomparable  skill.  Plumptre's  ball  had  not  only  deliv- 
ered them  from  great  danger,  but  had  also  furnished 
them  with  very  delicate  food.  And  that  evening,  feasting 
upon  some  bits  of  the  trunk,  feet,  and  sides  the  trav- 
elers laughingly  declared  that  it's  an  ill  wind  that  blows 
nobody  good. 

After  having  traversed  the  Thung-Lung  pass,  in  which 
this  tragic  event  had  taken  place,  the  caravan  again 
ascended  to  the  north,  and  so  arrived  in  the  Tingri- 
Maidan  plain,  through  the  entire  length  of  which  flowed 
the  Tingri-Chu  river. 

But  they  could  go  no  further  to  the  northward, 
being  stopped  at  the  Tibetan  customhouse.  From  this 
time  their  course  swerved  completely  to  the  eastward, 
thus  passing  around  the  central  mass  in  which  is  situ- 
ated Gaurisankar.  Most  of  the  rivers  which  flow  down 
from  Tibet  pass  through  the  wall  presented  by  the 
Himalayas  by  gorges  of  such  depth  and  such  abruptness 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  travelers  to  enter  them. 
It  was  only    by    scaling    the    neighboring    cliffs,    by    a 


2o8  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

succession  of  passes  more  than  four  thousand  meters 
in  height,  that  they  could  continue  on  their  way.  They 
were  even  obliged  to  avoid  certain  gaps  in  the  chain  by 
detours  of  more  than  fifty  kilometers.  Time  was  passing, 
the  food  was  giving  out,  and  the  calculations  that  they 
made  with  great  regularity  each  day  showed  them  that 
they  had  traveled  enormous  distances  without  making 
much  headway.  They  were  still  at  the  foot  of  Chingo- 
pa-mari. 

''Ah,  bah!"  cried  Plumptre  one  morning,  no  longer 
recognizing  his  way,  ''has  the  earth  turned  upside 
down  ?  " 

What  had  drawn  from  him  this  exclamation  was  the 
strange  phenomenon  of  the  mirage,  which  on  account  of 
the  refraction  of  the  rarefied  layers  of  air,  renders  it  diffi- 
cult to  locate  one's  self,  and  causes  the  sun  to  appear 
almost  motionless  at  one  point  of  the  heavens. 


GRALC  II   FLOUKISHEU   THt    KOl'li. 


XIII. 


THE  AVALANCHE. 


Since  leaving  Dud-Kunda  the  travelers  had  marched 
at  the  rate  of  fifteen  kilometers  a  day,  and  eight  days 
had  passed.  They  could  do  no  better,^  and  it  was  the 
maximum  effort  that  could  be  made  by  human  energy 
at  such  levels  and  against  such  obstacles.  They  were 
now  in  the  midst  of  their  definite  ascent,  six  thou- 
sand meters  up,  already  feeling  the  divers  troubles  that 
afflict  mountain  climbers ;  vertigo,  weight  upon  the 
stomach,  impeded  circulation,  difficulty  in  breathing — in 
a  word,  they  were  threatened  with  all  those  ills  that 
physicians  group  under  the  generic  name  of  mountain 
sickness.  None  of  them,  however,  wished  to  abandon 
the  party.  When  the  goal  is  so  near,  one  is  rarely 
discouraged. 

So  near!    They  knew  very  little  about  it.     Like  the 


2IO  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

Hindu  pundit  who  was  the  first  to  attempt  this  tre- 
mendous ascent,  they  passed  around  the  mountain 
without  seeing  it.  The  level  they  had  reached  gave 
them  a  view  of  all  the  inferior  or  surrounding  summits. 
Nowhere  could  they  discover  the  mysterious  Gauri- 
sankar.  The  nearer  they  came,  the  more  closely  it 
concealed  itself.  It  was  a  regular  game  of  hide-and- 
seek  in  which  the  one  who  escaped  the  pursuit  of  the 
seekers  was  the  giant  par  excellence,  the  king  of  the 
Himalayas. 

Now  the  travelers  took  all  possible  pains  to  keep 
their  way.  They  were  in  a  labyrinth,  as  it  were,  and 
the  sun  alone  could  guide  them,  furnishing  them  with 
a  point  of  comparison. 

From  Dudkunda  to  Khansa,  from  Khansa  to  Gaura, 
from  Gaura  to  Ghat,  they  had  sometimes  gone  up  and 
sometimes  down.  They  had  not  apparently  gained  a 
meter. 

Now,  far  from  any  designated  road,  they  had  no  path 
other  than  they  made  for  themselves.  But  with  each 
ascent  came  a  fresh  disappointment.  Did  they  climb  one 
peak,  from  its  summit  they  discovered  ten,  twenty  others, 
to  the  north,  to  the  east,  to  the  west,  to  the  south. 
Then  they  had  to  descend  again,  and  try  to  measure  the 
heights,  and  recommence  the  ascent  with  no  more  chance 
of  success.  Meanwhile  all  had  remarked  one  thing,  and 
this  common  observation  had  permitted  them  to  com- 
pare their  estimates  with  more  certainty.  It  was  to  the 
north  that  the  landscape  kept  the  most  unvarying 
aspect,  and  one  could  perceive  in  that  direction  a  suc- 
cession of  giant  summits,  from  among  which  one  in  par- 
ticular detached  itself  with  noticeable  clearness. 

"Can  we  be   mistaken?"    asked   Miss   Weldon,   one 


THE  AVALANCHE.  211 

morning,  on  whom  all  these  goings  and  comings  had 
slowly  begun  to  tell.  ''Are  we  indeed  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Gaurisankar  ?  Perhaps  we  have  been  victims,  in 
our  ignorance,  to  some  effect  of  the  mirage,  and  are  still 
a  great  way  from  the  mountain.  The  savages  whom  we 
have  questioned  would  not  be  likely  to  inform  us  as  to 
that." 

Merrien  responded.  His  eyes  were  fixed  upon  a  map, 
and  he  and  the  doctor  came  to  show  it  to  her. 

''No,  mademoiselle.  There  can  be  no  error,  we  are 
eighty-four  degrees,  thirty  minutes  east  of  the  meridian 
of  Paris,  and  twenty-seven  degrees,  fifty  minutes  north 
latitude.  The  range  on  which  we  now  are  is  certainly 
that  of  Mayanama,  in  the  center  of  which  rises  Chingo- 
pa-mari  or  Gaurisankar,  called  Mt.  Everest  by  the  English. 
The  two  rivers  that  we  have  crossed  are  certainly  the 
Tomba-Kosi,  and  the  Dud-Kosi,  and  if  we  succeed  in 
finding  the  course  of  the  two  streams  Arun  and  Barun, 
we  shall  have  found  Gaurisankar." 

That  was  not  the  only  anxiety  that  the  travelers  ex- 
perienced. There  were  others,  of  a  different  gravity  ;  the 
first  and  most  pressing  of  which  was  the  question  of 
food. 

At  a  height  of  six  thousand  meters,  indeed,  the  trav- 
elers had  no  dread  of  dangerous  or  even  intrusive  neigh- 
bors. They  decided,  indeed,  that  there  were  not  enough 
of  these.  What  would  they  not  have  given  to  meet 
some  of  those  wild  goats  in  these  valleys  beside  these 
Himalayan  rivers  ;  some  of  these  broad-horned  elans,  whose 
flesh  is  found  so  delectable  by  the  hunters  of  the  country  ! 
And  it  was  not  to  satisfy  a  mere  gourmand's  caprice,  but 
to  insure  their  very  existence,  that  they  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  pleasures  of  the  chase. 


212  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

In  default  of  these  innocent  animals  they  would  have 
found  acceptable  an  attack  by  one  of  the  great  ruminants 
of  the  forest,  one  of  the  yaks  or  woolly  oxen  which  are 
still  found  on  the  plateaus  of  Tibet  and  of  Central 
Asia. 

But  nothing  appeared.  Occasionally,  here  and  there 
upon  the  heath,  they  saw  in  the  distance  a  white  rabbit 
leaping  or  a  snowy  partridge  flying ;  creatures  invariably 
found  in  the  cold  regions,  perhaps  because  the  law  of  the 
struggle  for  existence  has  developed  the  instinct  to  tlnd 
shelter  for  their  barren  lives  upon  these  bleak  summits  as 
well  as  among  the  ice  of  the  poles,  where  the  flesh-eaters 
of  all  kinds  may  not  seek  them.  Nevertheless  the  travel- 
ers could  still  see  now  and  then  white-headed  eagles, 
griffins,  and  vultures  start  up  with  hoarse  cries  above  the 
rocky  spires  where  they  had  hung  their  eyries. 

Now,  during  the  six  days  that  they  had  been  in  the 
mountain  the  travelers  had  greatly  reduced  their  sup- 
plies. Up  to  this  time  they  had  eaten  almost  as  usual. 
Game  had  not  been  lacking,  which  had  continued  to 
provide  them  with  fresh  meat.  Bread  itself  had  been 
found,  thanks  to  the  cleverness  of  Salem-Bun,  who  had 
bought  a  full  supply  of  corn-meal  of  the  peasants  of 
Ghat ;  a  simple  and  hospitable  people,  whose  good 
offices  had  been   very  much   prized  by  the  explorers. 

But  everything  had  given  out  at  once,  flour  and  rice, 
meat  and  vegetables.  They  had  to  content  themselves 
with  biscuit  which  had  been  brought  in  their  knap- 
sacks and  occasional  cups  of  tea  or  coffee  ;  but  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  hasten  the  ascent,  if  the  sup- 
plies were  to  hold  out  until  they  returned. 

Since  their  entrance  by  the  Thung-Lung  pass,  their 
march  had  been  nearly   circular.     They  kept  continually 


THE  AFALANCHE.  215 

going  around  the  peak,  and,  strange  to  say,  it  seemed  as 
thoLigii  tiie  entire  mountain  turned  in  a  contrary  direction. 
A  sort  of  despair  seized  them. 

The  evening  of  the  eighth  day  they  halted  on  one  of 
the  rocky  ledges  with  which  they  were  too  well  ac- 
quainted, since  they  were  all  alike. 

A  gloomy  silence  reigned  while  they  occupied  them- 
selves with  cooking  their  last  meal  of  meat.  Salem- 
Bun  had  set  up  in  a  cranny  of  the  granite  wall  the 
tripod  on  which  he  did  his  cooking  in  the  open  air, 
after  having  announced  to  his  companions  that  he  was 
going  to  make  them  a  curry  with  the  last  bits  of 
salted  kid  left  to  them. 

The  platform  on  which  they  were  was  a  projection 
half  a  kilometer  in  width  and  length,  overhanging  dark 
perpendicular  gorges,  at  the  bottom  of  which  through 
pines,  cypresses,  rhododendrons,  and  wild  laurel  trees 
could  be  heard  the  roaring  of  torrents.  Above  them  the 
naked  slippery  wall  rose  to  the  height  of  three  or  four 
hundred  meters,  except  at  the  northeast,  where  a  fright- 
fully steep  slope  occurred,  itself  overhung  by  a  glacier, 
the  surface  of  which  could  be  seen  sparkling  in  the  sun. 

The  glacier  appeared  at  a  distance  to  inclose  a  lake. 
It  was  probable  that  the  waters  coming  from  the  melt- 
ing snow  had  collected  in  this  species  of  reservoir ;  a 
very  slow  trickling  stream  carried  it  in  dazzling  falls  into 
the  shadowy  valleys  of  the  east,  and  one  could  often  see 
the  spray  of  this  water,  reduced  to  mist,  rise  to  the 
crest  of  the  mountain. 

'Mt  is  strange,"  suddenly  cried  MacGregor ;  ''the 
more  I  consider  this  landscape,  the  more  1  fear  being 
the  victim  of  an  optical  illusion." 

''  What  do  you  mean,  doctor?  "  asked  Cicely  Weldon. 


2  14  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

The  doctor  had  put  his  hand  upon  his  eyes ;  seeing 
which,  his  companions  had  imitated  him. 

"Strange,  strange!"  repeated  the  Scotchman.  ''My 
sight  must  be  deranged,  for  everything  on  the  glacier 
seems  to  be  trembling." 

"Bah!  A  phenomenon  of  mirage,  doubtless,  nothing 
more,"  corrected  Major  Plumptre,  but  the  officer  had 
not  quitted  his  place  by  the  fire  which  the  baburdji 
had  lighted,  and  upon  which  the  pot  of  curry  was 
exhaling  its  fragrant  steam. 

"Come  and  look  yourself,  Plumptre,"  cried  Merrien  ; 
"your  testimony  would  confirm  ours." 

The  major  rose  carelessly,  as  if  reluctant.  He  picked 
up  his  spy-glass,  which  he  had  let  fall  at  the  entrance 
of  the  little  grotto  in  which  they  had  taken  shelter,  and 
advanced  toward  his  friends,  grumbling : 

"What  a  bore  to  disturb  me  for  nothing!  One  sees 
that  sort  of  thing  ten  times  a  day." 

But  he  had  hardly  placed  the  glass  to  his  eyes 
when  he  gave  a  cry  : 

"By  Jove!"  he  cried.  "That  is  not  a  mirage,  it 
is  a  reality.  The  glacier  is  moving,  it  is  coming 
upon  us ! " 

Everyone  sprang  for  his  glass,  and  the  next  moment 
the  entire  troop  had  fastened  their  gaze  upon  the 
phenomenon. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Merrien,  "this  is  serious.  It  is  an 
avalanche,  but  a  diluvial  one.  I  am  not  mistaken  ;  1 
have  seen  plenty  of  them,  on  Mt.  Blanc,  the  Pyre- 
nees, and  the  Caucasus,  but  nothing  which  was  com- 
parable to  the  one  we  now  behold.  This  goes  beyond 
everything,  surpassing  all  conception.  May  God  pro- 
tect us ! " 


THE  AJ^ALANCHE.  215 

Then,  in  sickening  stupor  mingled  with  admiration, 
they  all  contemplated  the  terrifying  marvel  which  nature 
had  put  before  their  eyes.  It  was  indeed  an  avalanche 
which  was  descending  the  slope  of  the  mountains. 
The  entire  glacier  was  moving  with  a  motion  very  slow 
at  first  because  of  the  slight  incline,  and  also,  doubtless, 
because  of  the  first  obstacles  which  it  found  in  its  path. 
But  it  was  evident  that  these  obstacles  once  overcome, 
the  descent  once  under  way,  the  advance  would  be 
fearfully  rapid.  Already  hollow  sounds,  rumblings  heard 
faintly  in  the  distance,  betrayed  that  this  had  been 
accomplished.  The  pressure  of  the  enormous  snowy 
mass  was  splitting  the  dam  of  rocks  that  girdled  it. 
These  broke  loose  under  the  immense  impulse,  and 
from  where  they  stood,  the  travelers  could  see  them 
fly  out  or  roll  down  the  slope.  Some  of  the  most  tre- 
mendous blocks  fell  into  the  waters  of  the  lake,  and  then 
the  cascades,  increasing  in  volumes,  became  torrents. 
Finally  a  thunderous  noise  wakened  the  echoes  of  the 
mountain.  The  glacier  had  found  an  outlet,  it  had  forced 
the  stone  rampart ;  and  the  avalanche,  eating  away  the 
walls  of  the  passage,  crowded  the  granite  masses  to  right 
and  left,  filled  the  little  lake  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
sending  its  waters  wildly  out  of  their  basin,  and  rushed 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain,  with,  henceforth,  no 
possible  check. 

'M  understand  now,"  said  Merrien,  "why  these 
mountains  are  a  veritable  labyrinth,  and  why  the 
Nepalis  speak  with  absolute  terror  of  the  Himalayan 
avalanches.  They  are  daily  changing  the  faces  of  the 
peaks,  effacing  the  path  of  yesterday,  and  making  that  of 
the  morrow  only  to  efface  it  afresh.  Either  1  am  very 
much   mistaken,  or  the  phenomenon  that  we  now  behold 


2i6  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

will  in  the  end  help  to  open  the  way  to  us,  and  tear  the 
veil  from  the  mysterious  Gaurisankar." 

''  If  it  does  not  carry  us  away  !"  cried  Miss  Weldon, 
in  deep  anxiety. 

Jean  Merrien  reassured  her. 

''No,"  he  said,  ''that  fear  should  be  dismissed.  The 
platform  on  which  we  stand  is  cut  at  right  angles, 
and  the  torrent  descending  from  the  chain  cannot  sub- 
merge us.  But  it  will  indeed  be  better  not  to  venture  on 
the  other  slope,  for " 

He  did  not  finish.  A  frightful  commotion  shook  the 
atmosphere.  A  column  of  air  displaced  by  the  cataclysm 
sped  with  the  swiftness  and  force  of  a  waterspout.  The 
first  eddy  had  cut  short  the  explorer's  words. 

"To  the  grotto!  to  the  grotto!"'  he  cried,  shouting 
at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

All  fled  to  the  shelter,  and  crouched  there  in  terror. 
They  were  able  from  there  to  watch  all  the  splendid  hor- 
ror of  the  scene. 

All  ?  no,  alas  !  One  was  missing  ;  poor  Knebel,  one  of 
the  Americans. 

The  imprudent  fellow  had  left  the  ledge  an  hour 
before  and  had  ventured  upon  the  slopes  situated  on 
the  other  side  of  the  cleft.  The  powerless  spectators  of 
the  scene,  with  broken  hearts  and  brows  contracted  by  a 
horrible  dread,  could  see  the  unfortunate  man  running, 
tumbling  heels  over  head,  to  reach  them.  Sometimes  the 
earth  slipped  from  under  his  feet,  and  he  fell  on  his  back. 
Sometimes  he  clutched  desperately  at  the  trunk  of  a  tree 
and  succeeded  in  gaining  some  few  feet  of  ground.  But 
it  was  obvious  that  he  would  not  arrive  in  time  at  the 
species  of  isthmus  that  connected  the  two  slopes.  The 
avalanche  would  be  ahead  of  him. 


THE  Al^ALANCHE.  217 

The  catastrophe  was  inevitable.  It  came.  A  deluge 
of  stones,  of  mud,  of  bits  of  ice,  of  powdery  snow  passed 
over  the  levels  of  the  foreground.  At  the  same  time  the 
waters  of  the  lake,  driven  from  their  basin,  poured 
out  in  torrents.  A  sheet  of  water  occupying  many 
thousand  cubic  meters  of  space,  like  an  instantaneous 
Niagara,  but  often  times  greater  volume  than  the  famous 
falls  of  Lake  Erie,  spread  like  a  liquid  veil  over  the  side 
of  the  mountain,  followed  immediately  by  the  snowy 
and  rocky  mass  of  the  glacier. 

It  was  prodigious,  terrifying,  and  sublime.  Trees, 
bushes,  grasses,  and  turf;  the  scant  vegetation  of  the 
wind-swept  regions ;  the  dense  and  bushy  mosses  of  the 
valley,  all  disappeared  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  all 
were  swept  away  by  the  gigantic,  supernatural  wave. 
A  deafening  noise,  as  of  the  bursting  of  a  planet,  made 
up  of  thunder-claps,  of  the  wail  of  winds  started  by 
this  sudden  displacement,  the  cracking  of  tree  trunks 
and  rocks,  filled  the  air  as  with  cries  of  agony.  And 
in  the  intervals  of  this  cataclysm  the  explorers,  petri- 
fied with  terror,  perceived  the  unfortunate  Knebel  at 
the  very  edge  of  the  crevasse  that  separated  the  pla- 
teau on  which  they  had  taken  refuge  from  the  declivity 
of  the  neighboring  slope. 

The  poor  fellow's  voice  came  to  them  between  two 
roars  of  the  avalanche. 

*'  Help  !  "  he  cried,  in  desperation,  ''help!  " 

He  was  clinging  to  a  strong  root  overhanging  the 
precipice,  his  feet  resting  on  a  sort  of  bracket  of  stone. 
He  looked  about  him  with  eyes  crazed  by  fright.  It 
was  a  terrible  sight  that  the  travelers  were  forced  to 
behold. 

''Come,  then!"  cried  Merrien.     "We  must  do  what 


2i8  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

we  can  to  help  him.  The  avalanche  has  not  yet 
broken  over  this  side.  Perhaps  it  will  not  do  so.  Couldn't 
we  try  and  throw  him  a  rope  ?  " 

''Yes,  yes,"  begged  Cicely.  ''Try  that,  friends.  We 
cannot  leave  him  to  perish  unaided." 

She  was  about  to  dart  forth  at  once.  The  Frenchman 
gently  detained  her,  saying : 

"No,  mademoiselle,  you  would  be  of  no  use.  The 
vortices  of  air  are  still  too  violent,  and,  besides,  we 
will  do  all  that  can  be  done." 

Aided  by  Plumptre  and  Euzen  Graec'h,  after  they  had 
rapidly  tied  themselves  together,  Merrien  ventured  outside 
the  cleft  in  the  rocks. 

The  undertaking  was  an  extremely  perilous  one.  It 
was  blowing  a  whirlwind,  and  the  wind  followed  all 
the  fluctuations  of  the  meteor.  Seized  by  its  gusts  as 
by  an  invisible  and  gigantic  hand,  the  trees  snapped. 
Some  were  torn  out  by  the  roots  and  sent  flying  into 
space,  with  their  branches  torn,  their  roots  hanging 
clogged  with  enormous  clods  of  earth.  Blocks  weighing 
many  hundredweight.  Hung  as  from  a  monstrous  sling, 
struck  the  smooth  and  rigid  wall  of  the  precipice,  and 
broke  into  innumerable  fragments.  The  ^r^7^  of  the  abyss 
was  heaped  with  this  debris,  and  the  courageous  travel- 
ers might  easily  be  caught  in  one  of  these  showers  before 
they  could  accomplish  their  generous  attempt. 
'  Nevertheless,  they  did  not  draw  back.  Arrived  at  the 
brink  of  the  precipice,  Graec'h,  whose  sailor's  education 
made  him  more  skillful  than  the  others,  flourished  the 
rope  which  was  coiled  in  two  or  three  rings.  He  whirled 
it  about  his  head  and  let  it  fly.  The  end  touched  the 
tree,  and  Knebel  was  able  to  grasp  it. 

All  was  not  yet  done,  however.    The  American   must 


THE  AVALANCHE.  219 

now,  regardless  of  vertigo,  and  without  hesitating  at 
the  terrible  shock,  trusting  himself  to  the  rope,  leap  the 
three  or  four  meters  between  him  and  the  opposite 
wall,  at  the  risk  of  being  crushed  against  the  granite. 

For  an  instant  the  explorers  considered  him  saved. 
Abandoning  his  miserable  refuge,  the  unfortunate  man 
had  leaped,  clinging  to  the  rope. 

But  at  the  same  moment  the  wind  rose  furiously. 
A  mass  of  snow,  driven  by  the  tempest,  flew  over  the 
edge  of  the  cliff.  The  impulse  was  so  unexpected,  so 
violent,  that  the  Breton  was  thrown  headlong  upon  the 
brink,  and  half  buried  under  a  shroud  oi  neve^  while  the 
rope  was  cut  on  the  sharp  edge  of  the  cliff,  and  the 
unfortunate  Knebel  was  plunged  two  hundred  meters 
into  the  abyss  by  the  avalanche. 

A  cry  of  despair  went  up  from  the  ledge.  The  catas- 
trophe was  complete.  The  American  was  dead,  without 
suffering,  doubtless  ;  crushed  by  one  hundred  cubic  meters 
of  earth,  snow,  and  rocks. 

They  were  fortunate  if  they  had  not  two  accidents  to 
deplore  !  They  were  promptly  reassured  upon  this  point. 
Euzen  Graec'h  rose,  safe,  but  pretty  badly  bruised. 

This  terrible  event  cast  a  gloom  over  them  all,  and  a 
profound  sadness  weighed  upon  the  hearts  of  the  little 
company. 

Knebel  was  the  first  European  to  succumb  in  this 
expedition. 

Cicely  Weldon,  to  whom  he  had  been  a  devoted  serv- 
ant and  faithful  guardian,  was  cruelly  stricken  by  this 
loss.  Sobs  choked  her,  and  a  broken  moan  rose  to  her 
lips,  through  her  tears. 

"  How    many    misfortunes    we    have    had    upon    our 

*  Neve  is  snow   in   the  condition   preceding  the  glacial 


220  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

journey!"  she  groaned.  ''How  many  deaths!  Is  it  not 
a  punishment  for  our  pride,  our  vain  curiosity  ?  Do  we 
not  tempt  God  by  trying  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of 
the  globe,  the  approaches  to  which  are  so  guarded  by 
nature  ?  " 

Her  companions  lavished  attentions  upon  her  and 
revived  her  courage.  No,  their  enterprise  was  not  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  God,  and,  sad  as  the  accident  was, 
it  was  only  too  naturally  explained  by  the  imprudence  of 
the  unfortunate  Knebel  himself.  If  he  had  not  separated 
himself  from  the  camp,  he  would  not  have  been  surprised 
by  the  avalanche,  and  would  still  be  safe  and  sound 
among  his  comrades. 

They  let  grief  have  its  way,  until  time  should  some- 
what soften  it. 

Already  Merrien,  Plumptre,  Dr.  MacGregor,  and  Goulab 
were  inspecting  the  landscape  and  seeking  to  discover  a 
fresh  path. 

The  prognostications  of  the  Frenchman  had  been  very 
exact.  The  avalanche  had  cleared  the  ground  and  opened 
the  road  to  the  explorers. 

The  Himalayas  are  thus  masked  and  veiled  each  day 
by  the  grand  and  terrible  phenomena  hidden  among  their 
inaccessible  heights.  And  these  very  phenomena  are 
what  render  them  inaccessible. 

Thence  these  unforeseen  apparitions  of  walls  unsus- 
pected the  day  before,  these  overturnings  of  unstable 
crests,  in  the  wake  of  repeated  excavations  and  the  mys- 
terious work  of  the  waters ;  thence  these  sudden  floods 
that  transform  a  marsh  into  a  lake,  a  stream  into  a  river, 
a  gorge  into  a  roaring  and  wild  current  of  water,  a  glacier 
into  a  cataract.  But  thence  also  the  extreme  difficulty 
of  the  journey,   the  almost    absolute    impossibility    of  a 


A   CRY    OK    DESPAIR    RANG    OUT. 


22  2  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

man's  surmounting  the  obstacles  and  finding  the  marks  of 
the  road,  when  that  road  is  reduced  to  the  proportions 
of  a  goat-  or  bear-path. 

hi  this  case  the  avalanche,  in  spite  of  the  misfor- 
tune it  had  caused  them,  had  rendered  a  signal  service 
to  the  mountain-climbers— all  the  northwest  of  the  mass 
appeared  clear  before  their  eyes. 

There,  where  two  hours  before  were  stretched  a 
glacier  and  a  lake,  was  now  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a 
long  valley  hollowed  into  a  funnel. 

A  series  of  superposed  terraces  indicated  the  road  to 
be  followed,  and  above  the  last  of  them  a  cone  of 
dazzling  whiteness  showed  its  profile  against  a  sky  of 
remarkable  purity. 

Merrien  pointed  it  out  to  the  little  group,  and  cried 
out  in  a  sort  of  transport : 

"There  it  is!  There  it  is,  that  Gaurisankar  we  have 
so  yearned  for !  If  my  calculations  are  right,  we  ought 
in  two  days  to  be  at  the  entrance  of  the  zone  that 
it  dominates.  Come,  then— forward  !— this  time  without 
regret !  We  touch  our  goal  ! "  This  encouraging  speech 
renewed  everyone's  energy,  and  all  prepared  to  follow 
the  road. 

.  But  before  leaving  the  scene  of  the  catastrophe,  the 
travelers  wished  to  make  a  final  effort  in  behalf  of  their 
poor  lost  comrade. 

Possibly,  thanks  to  some  miraculous  circumstance, 
Knebel  had  been  able,  in  spite  of  all  appearances,  to  es- 
cape the  almost  certain  death  of  the  abyss.  They  could, 
not  depart  until  they  had  exhausted  all  means  of  suc- 
coring him  if  that  were  yet  possible. 

At  the  cost  of  extraordinary  peril,  Merrien,  Plump- 
tre,   Graec'h,  and   Goulab  descended  by  the  aid  of  ropes 


THE  Al^ALANCHE.  223 

to  the  bottom  of  the  precipice  heaped  with  debris  by 
the  avalanche.  They  were  obliged  to  surrender  all 
hope.  There,  where  some  hours  before  the  steep  slope 
had  terminated  in  a  valley  carpeted  by  thick  vegeta- 
tion, was  now  only  a  chaos  of  ruin,  as  if  an  earth- 
quake had  crumbled  the  mountain,  shaking  to  pieces 
the  entire  mass  of  the  Mayanamas.  Of  the  trees,  re- 
cently bushy  and  green,  there  remained  not  a  vestige  ; 
and  at  the  bottom  of  the  gorge  there  lay  a  pool  of  yel- 
lowish water,  which  ran  slowly  into  the  prodigiously 
enlarged  bed  of  a  stream.  Upon  the  side  of  the  seared 
slope  an  enormous  rent,  a  gaping  wound,  two  hundred 
meters  long  and  more  than  five  hundred  meters  wide,  was 
still  pouring  into  the  abyss  the  last  eddies  of  rock  and 
water. 

A  mound  of  heaped-up  earth  alone  indicated  the  huge 
tomb  under  which  rested  the  crushed  remains  of  the  poor 
American.  They  had  to  climb  up  again  more  sorrowful 
than  before  they  had  gone  down,  and  it  was  with  tears 
and  farewell  prayers,  after  having  planted  upon  this 
Cyclopean  grave  a  cross  made  of  two  pine  branches,  that 
the  travelers  took  leave  of  their  companion,  now  effaced 
from  among  the  number  of  the  living. 

The  dangerous  and  fatiguing  march  began  again.  But 
this  time,  at  least,  the  explorers  had  the  satisfaction  of 
feeling  that  their  trouble  was  not  pure  loss,  and  that  they 
were  rising  continually  toward  the  peak. 

They  first  crossed  the  bed  of  the  little  lake  that 
had  been  dried  up  by  the  cataclysm,  then  the  site  of 
the  glacier  itself 

Singular  to  relate,  the  ground  here  was  as  dry  as 
though  it  had  never  borne  a  wet  bed  of  ice.  Stranger 
still !    at  this  level    of    six    thousand    meters    or    there- 


224  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

aboLits,  they  did  not  experience  the  difficulty  in  breath- 
ing from  which  they  had  suffered  at  nuicii  lower 
altitude. 

The  doctor  explained  this  anomaly  by  the  displace- 
ment of  air  that  had  been  brought  about  by  the 
meteor.  According  to  him,  the  phenomenon  could  not 
have  taken  place  without  freeing  a  prodigious  quantity 
of  all  kinds  of  gases,  bringing  a  fresh  supply  of  oxygen 
to  the  rarefied  atmosphere. 

He  calculated  that,  unfortunately,  this  relative  com- 
fort would  not  last,  and  the  ordinary  density  of  high 
altitudes  would  soon  be  resumed. 

He  was  only  too  correct.  After  passing  another 
night  under  tents  erected  on  a  plateau  seven  thousand 
meters  in  altitude,  the  travelers  realized,  from  the  un- 
conquerable lassitude  of  their  limbs,  the  congestion  and 
vertigo  that  they  experienced,  and  the  overwhelming 
oppression  for  breath,  that  they  had  reached  regions 
fatal  to  every  creature  that  breathes.  The  moment  had 
come  to  use  the  most  extreme  measures  against  that 
greatest  of  all  dangers,  the  danger  of  asphyxia. 

Then  they  unpacked  with  the  greatest  care  the 
boxes  that  had  been  placed  on  the  litters  which  the 
travelers  had  transported  sometimes  on  the  backs  of 
mules,  sometimes  on  oxen  or  sheep,  and  sometimes  on 
their  own  shoulders.  Jean  Merrien  explained  their  nature 
and  the  part  they  were  to  play. 

"  Here,"  said  he,  "  is  the  most  recent  product  of  the 
inventive  genius  of  man.  The  copper  helmets  that  we 
are  going  to  put  on  much  resemble  diving  jackets.  These 
bags  that  you  see  contain  little  steel  bottles  and  little 
glass  tubes  which  have  in  them  bi-oxide  ot  manganese, 
and  the   water   requisite   to  the   production   of  oxygen. 


THE  Al^ALANCHE. 


225 


Communication  is  established  between  the  tubes  and  bot- 
tles by  means  of  valve  conduits,  the  cocks  of  which  are 
ready  to  each  one's  hand.  In  the  steel  tubes  is  liquid 
oxygen,  reduced  to  this  state  by  twelve  atmospheres' 
pressure.  The  valve  projects  the  oxygen  into  the  interior 
of  the  air  chamber  placed  on  the  left  side  of  the  breath- 
ing tube  in  such  a  way  that  the  gas  does  not  reach  the 
lips  entirely  pure,  which  fact  regulates  its  expenditure  and 
also  spares  the  lungs  which  breathe  it.  At  the  same 
time,  the  bi-oxide  of  manganese,  until  the  quantity  in- 
closed in  the  bag  is  completely  exhausted,  permits  the 
oxygen  consumed  to  be  replaced  by  a  fresh  supply. 

"The  apparatus  that  we  have  here  contains  the  supply 
requisite  for  ten  days'  breathing.  Let  us  then  be  sparing 
of  it,  and  finish  our  ascent  within  that  period." 


^  "'/'^^y^^fff^'^ 


THEY   WERE   LYING   IN   THE   SHADE   OF   THE   PINE   TREES. 


XIV. 

FAILURE  OF  AIR. 

Before  definitely  setting  out  for  the  summits  the  trav- 
elers prepared  their  itinerary,  and  made  all  their  arrange- 
ments with  the  scrupulous  care  demanded  by   prudence. 

Their  position  determined,  they  decided  that  they 
were  eighty-four  degrees,  twenty-six  minutes,  nineteen 
seconds,  east  longitude,  and  twenty-seven  degrees, 
thirty-two  minutes,  nfty-lour  seconds,  north  latitude, 
to  the  east  of  the  peak  supposed  to  be  Gaurisankar, 
to  the  southwest  of  Mi-la  pass,  to  the  northwest  of 
Ouallangchun.  A  wide  valley,  opening  at  their  right, 
showed  them  in  the  distance  the  course  of  the  Arun,  a 
gorge  at  their  feet,  and  beyond  that  of  the  Barun. 

The  column  at  once  divided  itself  into   three   groups. 

The  first  consisted  of  Merrien,  Plumptre,  and  Miss  Weldon  ; 

the  second  of  Dr.  MacGregor,  Goulab,  and  Morley  ;   the 

226 


FAILURE  OF  AIR..  227 

third,  of  Euzen  Graec'h,  Christi,  Salem-Bun,  and  his 
Hindu  comrade. 

It  was  decided  that  the  ascent  should  be  acjomplished 
under  the  following  conditions : 

The  first  group  should  begin  to  climb,  taking  the  lead 
by  an  hour's  march  from  the  second,  which  should  start 
according  to  the  same  regulations,  after  having  received 
and  transmitted  to  the  third,  the  telegraphic  advices  sent 
back  by  the  first.  This  communication  was  to  be  estab- 
lished by  means  of  an  electric  wire  inclosed  in  a  cable,  and 
surrounded  by  gutta-percha,  about  six  kilometers  in  length, 
which  the  travelers  unrolled  behind  them  as  they  went. 

The  ascent  became  very  laborious.  At  each  step  they 
were  checked  by  unforeseen  obstacles.  They  were 
obliged  to  climb  perpendicular  rocks,  enter  veritable 
plains  of  snow  in  which  they  sank  up  to  the  waist, 
avoid  speaking  aloud  for  fear  of  provoking  a  disturb- 
ance of  air  sufficient  to  bring  on  a  landslide.  The  lack 
of  provisions  was  greatly  felt,  and,  whatever  their  energy 
might  be,  the  travelers  felt  their  strength  was  decreasing 
from  hour  to  hour. 

The  morning  of  the  twelfth  day  Merrien,  on  exami- 
ning the  needle,  was  able  to  estimate  the  altitude  by  aid 
of  the  barometric  pressure. 

'M  believe,"  said  he  to  Cicely  and  the  major,  ''that 
we  have  reached  the  highest  point  that  human  foot  has 
ever  pressed." 

''What  is  the  height?"  asked  the  officer. 

"Seven  thousand  five  hundred  meters." 

"That  is  an  error :  the  Hindus  of  Gangotri  affirm  that 
the  Pundit  of  Milam  climbed  to  the  summit  of  Ibi-Gamin, 
which  is  seven  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-two 
meters.    So  one  could  go  higher  than  this." 


228  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

''We  will  do  so,"  said  Miss  Weldon  resolutely. 
They  persevered  two  hundred  meters  further,  but  at 
the  cost  of  what  suffering  ! 

At  the  first  halt  that  they  made  the  travelers  took 
off  their  helmets  in  order  to  economize,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, their  air  reserve.  No  sooner  was  the  mucous 
membrane  brought  into  contact  with  this  extraordinarily 
rarefied  air  than  the  characteristic  troubles  appeared  with 
their  usual  violence.  A  sharp  cough  racked  the  bron- 
chial tubes,  the  blood  spouted  from  Cicely's  nostrils, 
and  the  poor  child  fell    nearly  fainting  on  the  ground. 

Merrien  and  Plumptre  hastened  to  replace  the  ap- 
paratus upon  her  head,  but  the  incident  had  seriously 
impressed  them  all.  They  asked  themselves  if  it  would 
not  be  impossible  henceforth  to  pursue  an  enterprise  to 
which  nature  opposed  such  insurmountable  barriers. 
Furthermore,  they  could  no  longer  subsist  on  biscuit,  and 
inflammation  of  the  gums  announced  the  danger  of 
scurvy. 

It  was  indispensable  that  they  should  find  fresh  veg- 
etables somewhere,  and,  if  possible,  a  little  meat,  in  order 
to  restore  to  the  blood  the  red  globules  wasted  by 
anagmia. 

Suddenly  Plumptre,  whose  eyes  swept  the  horizon  of 
the  peaks,  gesticulated  with  both  arms,  and  without 
waiting  for  the  others,  let  himself  slide  rapidly  down  the 
talus  which  they  had  just  climbed.  Without  trying  to 
comprehend  him,  Merrien  and  Cicely  Weldon  followed 
him  upon  his  hazardous  path.  The  next  instant  all  three 
had  taken  off  their  air  helmets,  and  lying  in  the  shade 
of  the  pines  and  cypress  clumps,  breathed  luxuriously  the 
air  filled  with  resinous  odors  that  played  under  the 
dark  branches. 


FAILURE  OF  AIR.  229^ 

''Truly,  Plumptre/'  cried  Merrien  gayly,  ''this  is  a 
priceless  discovery  which  you  have  just  made." 

"Zounds!  my  dear  friend,"  replied  the  Scotchman, 
"we  have  just  lost  the  seven  hundred  meters  we  had 
gained,  but  it  was  urgently  necessary  to  refresh  our  lungs. 
We  will  make  up  our  distance  this  evening  or  to-morrow 
morning.  Meanwhile,  let  us  notify  our  friends  to  join  us 
as  soon  as  possible." 

They  immediately  established  telegraphic  communica- 
tion, and  minutely  indicated  to  the  rest  of  the  company 
the  road  they  must  follow  to  reach  the  Valley  of  Health. 
For  thus  it  was  that  the  three  in  their  enthusiasm  styled 
the  unknown  Tempe  which  they  had  just  discovered  at 
an  altitude  that  usually  destroys  all  efforts  at  vegetation. 

Two  hours  later  the  column  was  reunited,  and  a  little 
joy  played  upon  the  faces  clouded  by  suffering  and  pri- 
vation. 

"Sahib,"  said  Salem-Bun  to  Plumptre,  with  a  loud 
laugh,  "would  you  feel  disposed  to  eat  a  good  curry?" 

"Ten,  if  you  say  so,  my  boy,"  replied  the  officer, 
"  if  you  have  the  wherewithal  to  make  them." 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  baburji ;  "  1  have  the  powder, 
the  rice,  the  wood,  the  matches,  and  casseroles,  nothing- 
is  lacking  but  the  meat." 

"Naturally,"  grumbled  the  major,  "and  you  think 
it  is  funny  to  serve  up  this  joke  to  us  in  place  of  a 
dinner." 

Goulab  interrupted  them.  He  had  had  time  to  ex- 
plore a  part  of  the  valley  ;  he  returned,   saying : 

"Major,  this  gorge  certainly  contains  game— game  the 
easier  to  chase  since  it  cannot  escape  from  here,  except 
to  descend  lower.  All  that  is  required  is  that  it  should 
not  be  too  abundant  or  too  large." 


230  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

"We  will  take  it  as  it  comes,  Goulab,"  said  Mer- 
rien  gayly.  "Just  now  the  important  thing  is  to  have 
fresh  meat.     What  do  you  think,  mademoiselle  ?  " 

"I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion,  M.  Jean,  and  as  I 
shall  not  require  much  urging  to  take  my  part  of  the 
feast,  1  ask  to  Join  in  the  hunt." 

"Bravo!  bravo!"  applauded  her  companions,  while 
Goulab,  somewhat  more  serious,  said  in  a  low  tone  : 

"  Perhaps  that  is  imprudent,  mademoiselle.  We  do 
not  know  what  animals  we  are  going  to  run   across." 

"Very  well,  Goulab.  It  is  as  dangerous  for  you  as 
for  me,"  and  then  she  added,  somewhat  maliciously, 
"perhaps  you  doubt  my  talent  as  a  marksman?" 

"Certainly  not,  Miss  Cicely,  1  have  much  too  keen 
a  remembrance  of  your  good  shots  to  doubt  your 
skill.  Very  well  ;  since  you  are  determined  to  be  one 
of  us,  1  ask  nothing  better,  for  my  part ;  you  will  bring 
us  good  luck.  Now,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  hunt- 
ers already  grouped:  "forward,  march!" 

"  Forward,  march  !"  repeated  the  young  girl  joyously, 
while  she  slung  to  her  shoulder  the  fine  carbine  re- 
served for  her  personal  use. 

After  having  explored  the  neighborhood  of  the  camp, 
which  the  Hindus  had  already  set  up  and  were  scru- 
pulously guarding,  the  little  company  descended  some- 
what lower  toward  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  Not 
until  then  did  they  think  of  inspecting  their  surround- 
ings. On  every  side  there  were  only  fresh  verdure 
and  straight  and  vigorous  trees  to  be  seen,  while  over 
their  heads  rose  the  gigantic  summits  that  seemed  to 
overarch  the  valley,  their  peaks  uniting  in  a  colossal  dome. 

At  their  feet  sported  a  little  stream,  winding  like  a 
silver  ribbon  upon  green  velvet. 


FAILURE   OF  AIR.  231 

'*  Come,  come,  the  chef  awaits  the  meat,  that  he 
may  serve  us  with  a  perfect  curry,  and  meanwhile  you 
stand  there  mute  with  ecstasy,  like  any  poet.  You  poor 
amateurs  !"  cried  MacGregor,  in  a  pathetic  tone. 

A  general  laugh  greeted  this  sensible  reflection,  and 
their  slumbering  appetites  suddenly  awoke  with  incred- 
ible ferocity. 

They  at  once  made  the  necessary  arrangements,  and 
after  agreeing  upon  a  cry  for  help,  and  a  place  of 
rendezvous,  they  disbanded  in  groups  of  three,  just  as 
they  had  done  several  days  before,  but  for  an  entirely 
different  purpose. 

The  hunters  had  been  separated  hardly  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  when  a  guttural  cry,  prolonged,  repeated  by 
all  the  echoes  of  the  mountain,  reached  the  ears  of 
Cicely  Weldon,  Merrien,  and  the  major. 

''Did  you  hear  that,  gentlemen?"  asked  Cicely, 
startled. 

"Yes,"  responded  Merrien,  while  Plumptre  nodded  in 
the  affirmative.  "It  is  the  signal  agreed  upon,  and  if  1 
can  judge  from  the  sound  of  the  voice,  it  comes  from 
Goulab." 

So  speaking,  they  turned  back  upon  their  path.  They 
came  out  upon  a  sort  of  cross-road,  where  the  other 
hunters  were  already  assembled.  Facing  the  group,  by 
the  side  of  a  thicket  from  out  of  which  he  had  been 
driven  by  Christi,  a  yak  of  the  very  finest  species  was 
pawing  the  earth  with  his  cloven  foot. 

The  yak  of  the  Himalayas,  or  rather  of  Tibet,  is  a  sort 
of  long-haired  ox,  with  great  horns  pointed  at  the  ends. 
A  prominent  hump  follows  the  line  of  the  shoulders  and 
gives  this  curious  ruminant  the  appearance  of.  great 
strength. 


232  THE  LAND   Ot    TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

Suddenly  the  animal,  lowering  its  head,  butted  with 
its  horns  against  the  earth  it  had  turned  up,  and  then 
straightening  itself  with  an  abrupt,  proud  movement,  fixed 
its  eyes  for  a  moment  upon  its  enemies,  and,  without 
further  warning,  charged  upon  them.  The  latter,  who 
had  followed  all  its  movements  attentively,  and  divined 
its  intention,  separated  with  one  accord  into  two  groups, 
between  which  the  yak  passed  like  a  streak  of 
lightning. 

The  animal,  furious  at  having  missed  his  aim,  stopped 
after  a  few  paces,  and  turning  square  around,  prepared  to 
renew  his  attack.  Major  Plumptre  had  advanced  in 
front  of  his  companions,  in  order  to  aim  the  moment 
the  assailant  passed  them  again.  But,  surprised  by  the 
yak's  sudden  stop,  disturbed  by  its  abrupt  tacking,  he 
lost  the  impassibility  and  sang-froid  that  made  him  so 
remarkable  a  marksman. 

The  shot  was  fired,  but  only  wounded  the  animal, 
who  rushed  upon  him.  He  could  not  completely  avoid 
it,  and  being  struck  in  the  side  by  the  yak's  shoulder,  he 
was  upset.  The  brute,  forgetting  the  hunters,  stopped  as 
soon  as  it  could,  carried  away  as  it  was  by  its  im- 
petus and  the  rather  steep  incline  at  this  place.  Just 
as  it  prepared  to  return  to  a  fresh  charge  upon  the 
unfortunate  Englishman,  a  report  rang  out. 

The  wild  ox  fell,  biting  the  dust  with  its  smoking 
muzzle.  The  animal  was  not  dead  ;  Cicely's  ball,  for  it 
was  she  who  had  fired,  had  struck  the  center  of  the  knee 
with  perfect  accuracy,  breaking  the  cap.  But  before  any- 
one had  budged,  except  the  major,  who  had  risen  and 
shaken  the  earth  from  his  clothing  with  scrupulous 
care.  Miss  Weldon  had  fired  a  second  time,  and  struck 
the    animal   just    at   the    shoulder-joint.      A    quiver    ran 


THE   YAK    PASSED    LIKE    A   STREAK   OF   LIGHT. 


234  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

through  its  entire  frame,  and  it  moved  no  more.  Then 
they  vied  with  each  other  in  complimenting  the  young 
American.  Major  Piumptre  came  forward,  much  moved, 
and,  bowing  before  Cicely,  he  said  : 

''  1  owe  my  life  to  you,  Miss  Cicely.  1  shall  never 
forget  it." 

''Major,  one  good  turn  deserves  another.  You  have 
already  saved  mine.     Henceforth  we  are  quits." 

And  turning  to  Goulab,  she  added  laughingly  : 

"  Do  you  always  find,  shikari,  that  it  is  imprudent 
to  take  me  along  ?  " 

''  Did  1  not  say  also  that  you  brought  us  good  luck  ?  " 
the  Hindu  replied  gravely. 

"  We  now  have  a  choice  morsel,  thanks  to  Miss 
Cicely.  We  had  better  profit  by  it  at  once.  We  must 
notify  Salem-Bun,"  cried  MacGregor,  who  had  not  been 
made  oblivious  to  his  hunger  by  these  incidents. 

"  1  will  go,"  said  Christi.  And  in  less  than  a  mo- 
ment he  had  climbed  the  slope. 

Some  moments  later  he  reappeared,  accompanied  by 
the  two  Hindus,  who  set  to  work  to  cut  up  the  prey 
with  the  utmost  possible  care. 

Choice  bits  are  not  lacking  in  the  yak.  It  is,  in 
fact,  game  of  the  first  quality,  whose  extraordinarily 
savory  flesh  partakes  both  of  the  nature  of  butcher's 
meat  and  of  venison.  Independently  of  the  •  parts  that 
one  usually  prefers  in  its  European  cousin,  the  yak 
furnishes  cuts  peculiar  to  itself.  Such  are  the  hump, 
which  the  gourmets  of  India  and  Nepal  consider  fit  for 
a  king,  and  the  tail,  which  is  prepared  with  sauces, 
and  in  ragouts  of  all  kinds. 

The  baburdji  and  his  assistant  declared  that  they 
had  never  been  at  such  a  feast  before,   and    they    im- 


FAILURE  OF  AIR.  235 

plored  Miss  Weldon  to  be  hencefortli  purveyor  for  their 
larder. 

Put  into  good  humor  by  this  success,  which  insured 
the  little  company  supplies  for  some  time  to  come, 
the  young  girl  proposed  a  fresh  ''battue"  in  the  thick- 
ets of  the  valley. 

''  Miss,"  said  Goulab,  smiling,  "  although  1  hold  a  good 
enough  rank  among  hunters,  I  am  a  little  humiliated  not 
to  have  better  deserved,  thus  far,  my  title  of  shikari.  If 
you  wish,  1  will  try  to  restore  my  good  name,  for  1  have 
just  now  seen  numerous  traces  of  four-footed  and  feath- 
ered game.  It  is  only  a  pity  that  none  of  us  thought  of 
bringing  a  dog.  it  would  have  been  a  great  aid  to  us 
in  pointing  for  rabbits  and  pheasants.  But  since  we  have 
none  we  will  try  to  do  without  one." 

*M  am  with  you,  Goulab,"  cried  the  indef^itigable 
major,  who  never  wanted  to  be  left  out  of  any  sport. 

"And  I  also,"  added  the  Breton,  and  Morley  the 
American,  who  were  anxious  to  hear  the  rifle's 
voice. 

Meanwhile  Cicely,  Merrien,  and  the  doctor  had 
returned  to  the  camp,  where  they  found  the  little 
Madrasi  occupied  with  gathering  wood  for  the  dinner. 

Salem-Bun  had  already  cut  a  beefsteak  big  enough 
to  feed  a  caravan  four  times  the  size  of  theirs,  and 
put  the  rest  of  the  meat  in  pickle  in  the  salted  oil  in 
order  to  have  it  in   readiness  for  future  repasts. 

The  young  girl  and '  her  two  companions  seated 
themselves  under  the  shade  of  a  little  pine  wood,  and 
commenced  to  indulge  in  all  sorts  of  fancijes. 

'' Truly,"  cried  the  enthusiastic  Cicely,  ''this  valley 
is  an  Eden.  The  temperature  that  reigns  here  is  perpetual 
spring,  and   just    now,  on    the    banks    of  the    stream,  I 


236  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

noticed  magnificent  trees  like  those  of  the  temperate 
zones,  such  as  poplars,  beeches,  the  ash,  the  chestnut, 
plane  and  maple  trees.  1  am  not  even  certain  that  I 
did  not  see  oaks." 

"It  would  have  been  nothing  astonishing  if  you  had 
seen  them,"  said  MacGregor.  "The  Himalaya  region,  as 
1  believe  I  have  already  told  you,  is  a  world  apart,  which 
possesses  all  the  zones  and  all  the  latitudes  of  the 
globe.  The  Tarai  has  given  us"  the  climate  of  the  tropics, 
and  we  have  recently  been  able,  and  to-morrow  shall 
be  still  better  able,  to  judge  of  the  tremendous  cold  of 
the  peaks." 

"But,  doctor,"  resumed  Miss  Weldon,  "how  do  you 
explain  the  abnormal  temperature  of  this  valley  at  this 
altitude?" 

"1  can't  more  than  half  explain  it,  and  1  confess  to 
not  being  entirely  satisfied  with  even  that  explanation. 
Poor  as  it  is,  it  may  nevertheless  be  right,  but  we  have 
neither  the  means  nor  the  leisure  to  verify   it." 

"Speak  it  out,  doctor,"  insisted  Merrien,  who  was 
greatly  interested  in  the  physician's  words. 

"Such  as  it  is,  my  theory  is  justifiable.  I  imagine 
that  we  must  face  the  south,  and  we  may  be  certain 
in  that  particular  when  the  twilight  shows  us  in  which 
direction  the  shadows  fall  ;  for  1  fancy  that  here  we  shall 
be  free  from  those  optical  illusions  that,  when  we  were 
up  above,  showed  us  the  sun  continually  in  the  same 
place.  We  face  the  south,  then,  and  in  all  probability 
the  mountain  mass  will  be  opened  its  entire  length  by 
a  ladder  of  valleys  which  receive  the  wind  from  the  same 
direction  as  ourselves.  Now,  this  wind,  observe,  comes 
to  us  directly  from  Bengal,  over  the  Sunderbunds, 
Calcutta,  Darjiling,  etc.     It  thus  brings  us  both  humidity 


FAILURE  OF  AIR.  237 

tind  warmth,  seeds  from  the  lowlands  and  the  fertile 
growth  of  the  marshes.  It  is  in  this  way  that  I  explain 
the  presence  of  this  paradise." 

''Nothing  could  be  more  logical  than  this  hypoth- 
esis, doctor,"  said  Jean  Merrien,  ''  and  as  for  me  1  tlnd 
it  quite  sufficient." 

"There  is,  however,  a  'but.'  Damp  winds  are  usu- 
ally very  low  ones.  Now  for  the  south  winds  to  attain 
such  an  altitude,  there  ought  to  be,  it  seems  to  me, 
at  the  other  end  of  the  valley,   a  sort  of  flue." 

"That  is  what  we  must  verify." 

Just  then  a  succession  of  reports,  borne  upon  the 
•echoes  of  the  valley,  interrupted  their  conversation. 

"  Goulab  and  Plumptre  are  having  their  heart's  de- 
sire," said  Cicely  Weldon  gayly.  "  We  shall  soon  know 
if  they  have  been  lucky." 

They  knew  in  half  an  hour,  the  friends  returning  with 
that  air  of  proud  beatitude  that  characterizes  triumphant 
hunters.  Plumptre  brought  back  three  pheasants  and 
four  hares  ;  Goulab,  six  partridges,  two  pheasants,  and  two 
grouse  of  the  couroucou  family.  Euzen  Graec'h,  the 
least  fortunate  of  all,  had,  nevertheless,  brought  down  his 
three  hares.  In  the  presence  of  these  additional  supplies, 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  company  knew  no  bounds. 

"Decidedly,"  said  the  doctor,  "this  place  is  good, 
and  we  might  do  as  did  the  Apostles  on  the  day  of 
the  Transfiguration — erect  here  our  tents.  Suppose  we 
stop  our  ascent  here  ?    Aren't  we  on  Gaurisankar,  after  all  ?" 

"Suppose,  then,  that  we  found  a  colony,"  joked  Mer- 
rien. "At  least  we  shall  be  sure  of  having  no  intru- 
sive neighbors." 

Goulab  shook  his  head,  and  when  asked  the  meaning 
of  that  doubting  gesture,  he  replied  : 


238  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

''Snhibs,  nothing  could  be  less  certain  than  your 
security  in  this  place.  I  have,  in  fact,  discovered  proof 
that  this  valley  is  known  to  travelers.  It  furnishes  one 
of  the  passages  between  the  Ouallangchun  pass  and  that 
of  Ni-la,  as  is  demonstrated  by  the  existence  of  a  path 
over  the  nearest  buttress." 

He  pointed  to  the  eastern  crest  overhanging  the 
valley. 

''That  absolutely  disenchants  me!"  declared  Miss 
Weldon,  with  a  gesture  of  irritation.  'Ms  there  not  a 
corner  of  the  globe  that  has  not  been  profaned  by 
man  ?  " 

Merrien  commenced  to  laugh  at  this,  and  gayly 
bantered  the  young  girl. 

"  What  would  you  say,  mademoiselle,  if  you  should 
chance  to  hear  that  remark  from  the  lips  of  the  man 
who  shall  climb  Gaurisankar  after  us  ?  " 

"  I  should  say  that  he  was  right,  my  dear  sir," 
replied  Cicely,  who  had  the  courage  of  her  convictions. 

The  day  ended  in  the  midst  of  a  multiplicity  of  occu- 
pations. The  dinner,  carefully  prepared  by  Salem-Bun, 
was  found  delicious.     It  was  also  plentiful. 

Then,  as  the  Hindu  cook  knew  his  art  to  its  founda- 
tion, having  added  to  his  natural  gifts  the  education  he 
had  received  from  the  divers  English  masters  whom  he 
had  served,  he  was  able  to  lay  aside  important  stores  of 
cold  meat  for  the  rest  of  the  trip. 

The  next  morning  they  had  the  satisfaction  at  last 
of  seeing  the  sun  rise  normally,  and  they  were  able 
by  its  light  to  explore  the  depths  of  the  valley.  The 
fog  which  lay  like  a  fleece  over  the  levels  did  not 
prevent  the  travelers  from  sweeping  the  landscape  with 
their  glance.     But  they    only    commenced    to    enjoy    a 


FAILURE  OF  AIR.  239 

comprehensive  view  after  having  climbed  the  opposite 
ledge.  In  order  better  to  arrange  the  plan  of  their  route, 
they  decided  that  Goulab,  Plumptre,  and  the  doctor  should 
follow  the  path  of  the  caravans,  while  the  rest  of  the 
company  should  go  up  the  valley  as  far  as  the  rocky 
mass  which  made  of  it  a  sort  of  impasse. 

The  result  of  this  strategy  was  to  bring  them  all 
to  a  point  of  junction  forming  a  terrace.  A  fresh 
wall,  analogous  to  those  that  they  had  so  frequently 
encountered,  closed  all  egress  toward  the  center  of  the 
mountain. 

"There  is  no  further  doubt  of  it, "cried  Merrien,  strik- 
ing the  wall  with  the  end  of  his  iron  staff.  "The  peak 
is  concealed  there  behind  this  rampart." 

"Then  we  shall  not  see  it,"  declared  MacGregor,  in 
discouragement. 

"We  shall  see  it!"  exclaimed  the  Frenchman,  with 
emphasis.  "I  have  vowed  to  scale  Gaurisankar:  I  shall 
do  so." 

"Have  you  wings?"  asked  the  doctor  mockingly. 

"No,  but  1  have  my  hands,  my  spurs,  and  my 
ropes.  Besides,  at  first  sight,  this  wall  does  not  appear 
to  me  to  be  more  than  one  hundred  meters  high,  and 
if,  instead  of  descending  into  the  valley  we  had  con- 
tinued our  route  along  the  ledge,  we  should  certainly 
have  come  out  at  this  terrace." 

A  very  animated  discussion  then  ensued  between 
the  different  members  of  the  column.  MacGregor,  for 
the  first  time,  expressed  the  opinion  that  they  already 
had  done  enough,  that  to  attempt  new  adventures  would 
be  to  tempt  Providence.  He  supported  this  sentiment 
with  very  conclusive  reasons. 

"My  dear  Merrien,"  he  said,    "it  is  folly.    You  have 


-240  THE  LAND   OF    TAWNY  BEASTS. 

already  satisfied  yourself  as  to  the  impossibility  of  ap- 
proaching the  highest  levels  without  the  aid  of  our 
tubes  of  oxygen.  Even  here  it  has  taken  a  veritable 
caprice  of  nature  to  inclose  in  this  fissure  of  the  moun- 
tain mass  air  that  can  be  breathed.  1  cannot  otherwise 
explain  this  anomaly.  How  do  you  hope  to  overcome 
the  obstacles  born  of  the  interdict  of  creation  itself?" 

''Doctor,"  replied  Merrien,  "  if  I  only  wished  to  do 
what  everyone  can  do,  I  should  not  have  come  as  far 
as  Gaurisankar." 

It  was  of  no  use  for  MacGregor  to  say  anything ; 
he  vainly  produced  his  best  arguments  one  after  an- 
other. Jean  Merrien  was  intractable,  and  such  was  the 
force  of  his  resolution  that  he  won  over  Plumptre  and 
Cicely  Weldon.  Each  of  these  declared  that  nothing 
should  be  conceded  to  a  rival. 

"Where  France  goes,  there  can  England  go!"  cried 
the  Englishman,  with  spirit. 

"And  young  America  will  not  be  behind  them  !"  ex- 
claimed Miss  Weldon  with  the  same  enthusiasm.  They 
were  thus  far  in  the  debate,  when  they  saw  Christi 
running  rapidly,  making  almost  incomprehensible  signs. 

When  the  little  Madrasi,  breathless  with  his  run, 
had  at  last  recovered  sufficient  calm,  he  explained  him- 
self He  had  just  discovered,  in  turning  the  wall,  an 
excavation  from  which  escaped  boiling  water  and  vapor, 
the  sulphurous  odor  of  which  indicated  the  presence  of  a 
mineral  spring.  Guided  by  him  the  explorers  entered  a 
sort  of  tunnel,  the  vault  of  which,  at  first  loM'-arched, 
rose  into  a  sort  of  half-circular  hall,  terminated  by  a 
narrow  flue  through  which  the  clear  blue  sky  could 
be  seen. 

"This    conduit    must    come    out    upon     the     upper 


FAILURE  OF  AIR. 


241 


platform,"  said  Merrien.  ''Perhaps  we  miglit  get  out 
this  way  and  reach  it  ?  " 

The  hypothesis  was  admissible.  It  was  yet  to  be 
verified. 

In  order  not  to  involve  the  entire  company  in  this 
difficult  passage,  they  made  an  examination  of  it,  and 
as  the  temperature  of  the  crypt,  in  spite  of  the  vapor 
that  filled  it,  was  not  insupportable,  the  doctor,  Goulab, 
and  their  companions  entered  it  at  the  furthest  possible 
distance  from  the  hot  spring.  If  necessary,  should  the 
heat  become  too  great  for  them,  they  would  only 
have  to  regain  the  cool  grassy  slopes  of  the  valley 
itself. 

The  three  who  were  going  to  attempt  this  ascent, 
the  most  difficult  that  they  had  yet  undertaken,  set 
out  with  the  assistance  nature  had  provided,  aided  by 
their  own  industry. 

hi  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  hooks  and  ropes  were 
ready.  Euzen  Graec'h  and  Merrien  commenced  to  climb 
the  first  loose  rocks. 


THE   COMPANIONS   EMERGED,    ONE   AFTER   THE   OTHER. 


XV. 


THE  CRATER. 


It  was  a  veritable  chimney,  caused  by  the  gases  of  the 
earth  piercing  through  the  enormous  rock  which  rose 
perpendicularly  from  the  vault  of  the  grotto  to  the  level 
of  the  open  air  a  hundred  meters  higher  up,  so  that 
Merrien  said  laughingly  to  his  companions : 

"We  are  to  fill  the  position  of  chimney  sweeps,  and 
we  must  climb  like  them.  1  hope  that  we  shall  find 
foothold."  This  mode  of  ascent,  though  offering  consid- 
erable difficulties  to  an  ordinary  man,  was  of  truly  ele- 
mentary simplicity  for  the  gymnasts  accustomed  to  that 
sort  of  exercise. 

It  was  a  question  of  raising  one's  self  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  little  Savoyards,  bringing  hands  and  feet,  back 
and  knees  to  one's  aid  wherever  the  narrow  opening 
would  permit  such  gymnastics.     But  as  nothing  could  be 


THE  CRATER.  243 

more  irregular  than  this  tubular  conduit,  as  it  now 
contracted,  now  widened  ;  it  presented  enormous  varia- 
tions in  diameter,  and  other  methods  were  necessary  to 
the  overcoming  of  these  formidable  difficulties,  in  order 
to  avoid  a  fatal  fall. 

Merrien  was  provided  with  several  hooks  and  a 
hammer.  The  operation,  slow  as  it  was  difficult,  con- 
sisted in  driving  these  hooks  one  after  another  in  the 
rocky  wall,  and  mounting  by  their  aid,  adding  one 
more  at  each  step.  Relieved  by  the  Breton  and  the 
major  in  turn,  the  Frenchman  finished  this  arduous  task 
in  less  than  an  hour.  And  in  order  to  spare  the  oth- 
ers the  fatigue  of  continually  mounting  and  descending, 
they  slipped  a  cord  through  the  hooks  thus  planted,  and 
by  the  aid  of  this  cord  raised  the  necessary  materials  after 
the  fashion  of  masons  and  painters  upon  their  scaffold- 
ings. 

By  good  luck  the  wall,  in  spite  of  its  inequality, 
was  made  of  a  homogeneous  limestone,  which  retained 
the  iron  once  driven  into  it.  They  thus  had  no  breaks 
to  fear,  no  giving  way  under  the  weight  of  the  heavy 
bodies  that  would  be  suspended  from  the  hooks. 

These  were  of  very  superior  temper,  and  could  be 
firmly  inserted  in  the  stone  which  formed  the  circum- 
ference of  the  flue.  At  the  end  of  the  seventieth, 
Merrien,  entirely  satisfied  as  to  the  resistance  of  the 
steel  and  the  solidity  of  the  wall,  cried  from  above  to 
his  companions  that  they  might  in  their  turn  commence 
the  ascent. 

He  had  already  reached  a  sort  of  entablature  form- 
ing a  cornice,  when  they  perceived  that  from  this  cornice 
started  a  second  flue,  cut  through  obliquely  ;  the  gentle 
slope  of  which   was  made  still  easier  by    the   presence 


244  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

of  regulnr  steps  of  rock,  placed  there  by  a  caprice  of 
nature.  It  might  be  said  that  some  prehistoric  giant 
had  made  this  cavern  his  chosen  retreat,  and  had  cut  this 
strange  subterranean  stairway  for  his  own  use.  Positive, 
now,  of  being  able  to  reach  the  upper  level,  the  young 
man  renewed  his  invitation  to  his  friends  to  join  him,  and 
extended  to  them  a  rope  previously  fastened  to  the  end 
hook,  which  he  took  pains  to  fasten  upon  the  little  ledge 
that  he  had  reached. 

Miss  Weldon  was  the  first  to  venture  upon  the  peril- 
ous ladder. 

The  brave  young  girl  had  not  been  boasting  when,  at 
Srinagar,  she  had  enumerated  her  previous  exploits  on  the 
banks  of  Niagara  and  the  Zambesi.  Supple  and  vigor- 
ous, she  gave  proof  of  extraordinary  boldness  and  strength 
in  hanging  to  the  floating  balustrade  furnished  by  the 
rope,  and  ten  minutes  later  she  was  by  Merrien's  side, 
followed  almost  immediately  by  Plumptre. 

The  good  major,  although  he  was  the  third  to  ar- 
rive, was  proud  of  the  tour  de  force  that  he  had  just 
accomplished. 

The  cry  that  burst  spontaneously  from  his  lips  was 
an  altogether  surprising  bit  of  homage  from  an  English- 
man. 

"  My  dear  Merrien,  the  qualities  of  your  race  are  justly 
boasted  of.  Only  a  Frenchman  can  set  other  peoples  the 
example  of  conceiving  such  extravagant  feats,  and  of 
carrying  them  out." 

To  which  the  Frenchman  replied  with  gay   courtesy  : 

''Bah,  my  dear  major!  do  not  congratulate  me. 
There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that,  if  1  had  had  no 
competitors,  1  should  not  have  done  what  1  have  done. 
But  do  not  let  us  delay  for  compliments,"    he    added. 


THE  CRATER.  245 

''We  shall  have  time  enough  to  congratulate  each 
other  when  we  come  down  from  Gaurisankar."  And  all 
three,  fired  with  fresh  enthusiasm,  commenced  to  climb 
the  Cyclopean  stairway. 

Merrrien  was  again  the  first  to  reach  the  upper  plat- 
form. A  great  cry  of  joy  burst  from  his  lips,  followed 
immediately  by  a  clapping  of  hands  from  Cicely,  and 
the  enthusiastic  hurrahs  of  the  Scotchman.  Certainly 
it  had  never  before  been  given  to  human  eye  to  behold 
so  marvelous  a  spectacle. 

The  three  travelers  found  themselves  on  the  brink  of 
a  gigantic  pit,  and  the  panorama  which  stretched  before 
them  embraced  an  area  as  great  as  a  third  of  all  France. 

The  great  circular  platform  surrounded  Chingo-pa-mari 
like  a  collar,  the  snowy  brow  of  the  mountain  rising  as 
much  as  fifteen  hundred  meters  above  the  level  at 
which  the  travelers  had  arrived. 

Below  them,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  entire 
mass  of  the  Mayanama  accented  itself  like  a  map  in 
relief,  and  the  Himalaya  range  with  its  imposing  strata, 
its  powerful  buttresses,  the  thousand  folds  of  its  arms, 
extended  in  all  directions  before  their  vision.  To  the  north 
the  continuation  of  the  masses,  connected  by  their  passes, 
maintained  an  abrupt  slope  toward  the  banks  of  a  stream 
that  could  be  seen  shining  like  a  silver  ribbon  in  the 
narrow  Tingri  Mdidan  plain,  the  stream  called  the  Tingri- 
Chu.  Beyond,  the  great  line  of  the  Trans-Himalaya 
rivaled  the  true  Himalaya  in  elevation,  and  revealed 
peaks  of  prodigious  height  that  human  activity  has. 
never  been  able  to  approach.  To  the  east  Kinchinjinga, 
the  rival  of  Everest,  seemed  close  at  hand,  and  its-^ 
well-defined  contours,  its  powerfully  accented  outlines, 
made  it  appear  like  an   isolated  pyramid,   while  after  it 


246  THE  LAND  OF   TA[VNY  BEASTS. 

came  the  mighty  masses  of  the  Singalila,  Gnarim,  and 
DoLikiah  Mountains.  To  the  westward  rose  the  succes- 
sion of  heights  already  scaled  by  the  column — the  Thiang- 
Loang  pass,  the  Gossainthan  mass— and  away  in  the  back- 
ground, sparkling  through  the  violet  mists,  was  that 
Dhaulagiri  that  the  travelers  had  vainly  tried  to  climb. 
Finally,  to  the  southward  unfurled  the  valley  of  Arun, 
and  the  eye  could  easily  follow,  with  a  sense  of  color 
perspective,  the  marvelous  gradation  of  gorges  of  which 
the  valley  they  had  reached  the  day  before  was  only 
the  highest  step. 

The  three  travelers  paused,  filled  with  a  sentiment 
of  pious  admiration.  Cicely  Weldon  in  particular  mani- 
fested profound  emotion. 

*'  Heavens  !  how  beautiful  it  is  !  "  she  exclaimed  at 
intervals. 

"Do  you  regret  the  ascent,  major?"  asked  Merrien, 
laughing. 

''No,  by  Jove !  "  replied  the  officer,  ''and  1  under- 
stand why  nature  should  put  a  high  price  upon  such 
scenes." 

They  could  not  satisfy  their  gaze,  and  words  failed 
them  to  interpret  the  multitudinous  sentiments  that 
agitated  them. 

"  If  we  could  only  get  our  comrades  thus  far?  Eh! 
What  do  you  think,  Plumptre?" 

"1  think,"  replied  the  Scotchman,  "that  we  ought  at 
least  to  let  them  know  about  it.  They  will  come  then, 
if  they  wish  to." 

Merrien  tore  a  leaf  from  his  notebook,  scribbled  some 
lines  upon  it,  folded  this  brief  epistle  in  a  square  of 
paper,  which  he  fastened  to  a  pebble  ;  then  leaning  over 
the  edge  of  the  flue,  he    dropped   the   stone.     This   fell 


THE  CRATER.  247 

with  a  noise  comparable  to  that  of  a  succession  of  fire- 
works, exploding  one  after  the  other,  and  the  Frenchman 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  picked  up  by  their 
comrades,  who  ran  up,  attracted  by  the  noise. 

The  proposition  must  have  given  rise  to  some  discus- 
sion, for  the  echoes  of  the  flue,  acting  as  a  means  of 
communication,  brought  some  of  the  fragments  of  con- 
versation to  Merrien's  ears,  some  shreds  of  sentences 
that  had  to  be  pieced  together  to  make  sense.  Jean 
Merrien  interpreted  them  to  his  friends. 

''There  will  certainly  not  be  more  than  three  who  will 
make  the  ascent :  the  doctor,  Goulab,  and  Euzen.  Salem- 
Bun  prefers  to  remain  below.  Wide  horizons  do  not 
tempt  him.     He  is  decidedly  a  pot-au-feu  man." 

This  joke  had  no  further  success  than  to  elicit  from 
Miss  Weldon  the  following  scathing  remark  : 

"Do  not  mock,  M.  Merrien;  he  has  chosen  the 
better  part.  You  may  soon  have  occasion  to  regret  that 
you  did  not  remain  with  him." 

At  this  moment  the  expected  comrades  emerged  one 
after  the  other  from  the  oblique  conduit,  and  the  first 
comers  received  them  with  lively  congratulations.  The 
doctor,  after  vigorously  rubbing  his  legs  and  back,  ex- 
claimed : 

''What  a  road,  my  friends,  what  a  road!  It  is  true 
that,  when  one  is  fairly  on  the  ledge,  one  doesn't  lack  for 
air." 

"Humph!"  sneered  Plumptre,  "we  had  better  not 
flatter  ourselves  too  soon.  We  have  no  assurance  that 
we  shall  long  possess  that  happiness." 

"What  do  you  mean,  major?"  they  all  asked, 
alarmed  by  this  speech. 

"1   mean  that  it  would    be    very    possible    to    have 


248  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

the  counterpart  of  the  avalanche  here.  But  in  place  of 
being  too  cold,  and  smothered  with  snow,  we  shall 
be  too  hot,  perhaps.  Either  1  am  much  mistaken  or 
we  are  now  over  the  mouth  of  a  gigantic  crater, 
forming  a  circle  about  the  principal  peak.  You  can  fur- 
ther assure  yourselves  of  the  truth  of  this  by  your  own 
examination." 

So  speaking,  the  officer  pointed  to  a  kind  of  basin 
hollowed  out  upon  the  other  side  of  the  rim  of  this, 
prodigious  pit.  They  all  concentrated  their  attention 
upon  it,  and  at  once  shared  the  officer's  apprehen- 
sions. 

There  was  about  a  mile  between  where  the  trav- 
elers stood  and  the  snow-clad  rocks  which  served  as  a 
support  to  the  central  peak.  By  a  marvelous  effort  of 
Plutonic  forces,  these  rocks  rested  one  on  top  of  the 
other  after  the  fashion  of  an  enormous  staircase,  and 
it  was  easy  to  see  that  these  Titanic  steps  rendered 
it  possible  to  climb  up  to  the  upper  cone. 

Merrien  kept  silence  before  this  picture.  As  to  Cicely 
Weldon,  she  could  not  repress  a  picturesque  exclama- 
tion : 

''Truly,  might  it  not  be  said  that  God  had  transported 
the  materials  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  to  this  mountain  ?  " 

This  comparison  expressed  exactly  the  impression 
made  by  this  phenomenon  of  the  grouping  of  the 
rocks. 

The  granite  blocks  had  been  placed  there  not  in  the 
pell-mell  chaos  of  an  upheaval,  but  with  astonishing 
symmetry,  with  artistic  proportions  and  lines  giving  them 
the  aspect  of  a  ladder  affording  access  to  higher  and 
higher  levels. 

The  snow  heaped   up   upon  their   surfaces,  and  uporr 


THE  CRATER.  249 

their  aretes,  concealed  the  joints  and  the  lines  of  division 
of  this  unparalleled  scaftblding.  Exposed  to  the  south 
winds,  this  face  of  the  pyramid,  in  spite  of  its  great 
height,  had  felt  the  beneficent  effects  of  the  warmth  ;  and 
the  continuous  action  of  the  solar  rays,  when  the  glacial 
north  winds  did  not  blow  from  the  direction  of  Tibet,  had 
sufficed  to  maintain  at  this  point  a  constant  evaporation, 
which  was  still  another  argument  in  favor  of  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor's  hypothesis.  The  abnormal  vegetation  of  this 
slope  was  thus  explained,  as  well  as  the  presence  of  an 
atmosphere  dense  enough  to  be  easily  breathed. 

But  another  cause  doubtless  intervened  to  increase  the 
production  of  oxygen.  By  stooping,  the  travelers  were 
able  to  gather  up  minerals  of  argentiferous  lead  that  were 
scattered  in  innumerable  beds.  Manganese  was  there,  a 
product  of  the  soil,  and  the  heat,  arising  from  invisible 
chemical  action  upon  the  metal,  restored  to  the  air  the 
gases  necessary  to  combustion  and  to  life.  All  these 
things  were  in  themselves  very  reassuring.  Other  things 
it  is  true,  offered  menacing  warnings. 

The  basin  was  of  a  hundred  meters'  continuous  depth, 
which,  spread  over  an  extent  of  less  than  a  mile,  gave 
only  a  very  gentle,  hardly  perceptible  slope.  On  obser- 
vation, the  bottom  of  it  seemed  to  be  covered  with  a 
short  growth,  of  such  perfect  homogeneity  that  it  re- 
sembled an  immense  velvet  carpet — passing  through  the 
greatest  variation  of  tint,  from  apple  green  to  yellow- 
ish white,  with  a  light  undulating  movement  something 
like  the  soft  tremors  that,  under  the  summer  breezes, 
curve  and  lift  the  downy  ends  of  the  greensward  on 
carefully  weeded  and  mown  lawns. 

"Singular,  certainly  !  "  said  MacGregor.  ''The  bottom 
of  this  circular  valley  must  be  covered  with   mosses  and 


250  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

rare  lichens.     I  shall  not  go  away  from  this  place  without 
largely  increasing  my  plant  collection." 

GoLilab,  who  had  taken  some  steps  into  the  interior 
of  the  crater,  heard  these  words,  and  responded  ironi- 
cally : 

'M  hardly  think,  doctor,  that  that  moss  will  enrich 
your  collection,  for  the  excellent  reason  that  it  will  go 
off  in  smoke." 

''Come,  now!"  retorted  the  physician.  ''You  are 
making  fun  of  me,  Goulab  ?  " 

'M  am  not  making  fun,"  replied  the  shikari  gravely, 
''and  if  you  care  to  follow  my  example,  you  will  ar- 
rive at  the  same  conclusion,  sahib." 

He  stretched  out  his  hands  to  the  doctor.  The  bronzed 
skin  was  covered  with  a  yellowish  coating,  discolored  in 
the  way  that  the  petals  of  flowers  are  when  exposed 
to  the  blue  flame  of  a  chemical  match.  On  the  sleeves 
of  the  Hindu's  white  garment,  on  his  red  leather  boots, 
and  his  wide  linen  pajama,  there  had  been  deposited  in 
thin,  evenly  staining  layers  an  extremely  fine  dust,  oily 
to  the  touch  and  giving  out  a  characteristic  odor. 
There  was  no  longer  room  for  doubt. 

"Sulphur !  "  cried  the  doctor.  "  What  we  have  taken 
for  moss  is  only  solid  sulphuric  acid  ;  what  we  have 
seen  undulating  are  sulphuric  vapors  exhaled  by  the 
earth.    We  are  standing  on  a  solfatara.'' 

He  spoke  the  truth. 

That  whole  immense  basin,  lying  like  a  collar  around 
the  central  peak,  was  nothing  but  an  upturned  proiivette, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  great  natural  analyses  were 
elaborated.  Thence  came  that  escape  of  deleterious  gas 
with  which  was,  doubtless,  mingled  a  large  amount  of 
carbonic  acid  ;  thence  also  came  the  extraordinary  heat 


GOCLAB   STRETCHED   OUT   HIS   HANDS   TO   THE   DOCTOR. 


252  THE  LAND   OF   TAiVNY  BEASTS. 

which  at  seven  thousand  meters'  altitude  preserved  the 
valley  from  glacial  influences. 

"Well,"  said  Merrien,  '' we  must  once  more  acknowl- 
edge that  God  is  the  greatest  of  scientists.  I  do  not  know 
of  any  inventor  who  has  ever  conceived  the  idea  or 
draughted  the  plan  of  an  air  stove  of  such   dimensions." 

They  had  now  all  gathered  together  at  the  edge  of 
the  pit.  They  deliberated  as  to  v/hat  they  should  do. 
It  was  certain  that  if  there  should  be  nothing  but  a 
simple  escape  of  vapors,  these,  by  reason  of  their 
specific  gravity,  would  not  rise  very  high,  and  conse- 
quently would  hardly  inconvenience  the  travelers.  But 
if  the  enormous  mass  of  rock  were  nothing  but  a 
prodigious  laboratory,  if  its  sides  concealed  some  super- 
natural alembic,  wns  it  not  to  be  feared  that  the 
compressed  gases  might,  with  tremendous  force,  break 
through  suddenly,  which  would  mean  overwhelming  as- 
phyxia for  the  unfortunates,  whether  it  proceeded  from 
instantaneous  absorption  of  oxygen  by  the  greedy 
metalloids,  or  was  the  result  of  a  general  poisoning  of 
the  atmosphere?    The  prospect  was  not  reassuring. 

''The  wisest  way  is  to  beat  a  retreat,"  said  the 
doctor,  ''and  regain  the  crypt,  and  from  there  the 
valley." 

"And  the  peak  is  there,  there — under  our  hand!" 
groaned  Merrien,  tearing  his  hair. 

Suddenly  seized  with  a  violent  resolution,  he 
cried : 

"No  matter!  Whatever  happens,  it  shall  not  be  said 
that  1  have  retreated  ;  that  1  have  missed  my  goal  by 
a  mile." 

And  before  they  could  restrain  him,  the  bold  French- 
man had  commenced  to  run  down  into  the  basin.     Miss 


THE  CRATER.  253 

Weldon  and  the  major  rushed  after  liim,  carried  away 
by  the  same  fervor,  spurred  on  by  the  spirit  of  emulation. 

The  doctor  stood  in  astonishment  upon  the  brink. 
He.  called  loudly  after  them,  believing  it  to  be  only  a 
joke.  But  they  continued  to  run.  And  those  who  re- 
mained on  the  edge  of  the  pit  could  see  with  amazement 
the  gases  displaced  by  their  running  visibly  increase, 
ri?e  about  the  three  rash  creatures,  envelop  them  up  to 
the  knees  and  then  to  the  body.  Finally,  wlien  they 
had  reached  the  base  of  the  central  rocks,  the  blue  and 
yellow  smoke  was  floating  as  high  as  their  arm-pits. 

Merrien  turned,  and  cried  in  a  voice  which  took  on 
frightful  sonority  from  the  mountain  echoes : 

"Go  down  again,  doctor;  go  down  again!  We  are 
safe.     We  will  rejoin  you  to-morrow." 

It  was  the  only  thing  to  do.  Heart  breaking  as  it  was 
to  him,  the  physician  gathered  his  people  together,  called 
the  Breton,  who  had  wanted  to  take  his  turn  in  cross- 
ing the  basin,  but  who  had  faltered  at  the  first  contact 
with  the  pestilential  miasma  ;  and  they  all  re-entered  the 
path  through  the  flue  to  the  grotto. 

Jean  Merrien  and  his  two  companions  had  already 
climbed  the  lowest  grades  of  the  peak. 

''Mademoiselle,"  he  cried,  "and  you  also,  major,  here 
we  are  at  the  last  stage  of  the  journey.  Henceforth  we 
are  each  for  himself,  save  in  the  case  of  danger  for  one  or 
the  other  of  us.  The  question  now  is,  which  will  be  the 
first  to  arrive." 

And  he,  passing  ahead  of  his  friends,  leaped  from 
grade  to  grade  the  sooner  to  reach  the  top.  Below  him 
the  major  had  found  a  more  practicable  path  than  that 
which  Cicely  Weldon  was  following ;  the  young  girl 
seemed  distraught.     Suddenly  Merrien  stopped. 


254  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

In  front  of  him  the  superposed  terraces  were  cut 
across  by  a  glacier  some  sixty  meters  in  breadth.  It  was 
necessary,  to  cross  it,  to  follow  the  Cyclopean  strata 
by  which  the  giant  stairway  was  prolonged. 

But  this  was  not  the  obstacle  that  had  interrupted 
the  ascent  of  the  invincible  champion.  He  felt  the  air 
to  breathe  failing  him.  Vertigo  seized  him.  Everything 
under  his  feet  swam  around  him.  He  could  not  mistake 
the  cause  of  this  difficulty.  It  was  nature  itself  which 
pronounced  the  interdict,  which  cried  to  the  desecraters 
in  the  voice  of  command  : 

''Thou  shalt  go  no  further!" 

Without  losing  a  second  the  young  man  unhooked 
the  helmet  that  hung  upon  his  back,  fastened  it  upon 
his  head,  and  put  it  into  communication  with  the  reser- 
voir of  oxygen.  Then,  seizing  his  staff,  he  ventured  a 
couple  of  steps  upon  the  blue  and  virgin  ice. 

But  short  as  the  pause  had  been,  it  had  given 
Plumptre  a  chance  to  catch  up  to  his  rival.  Warned 
by  this  example,  the  Scotchman  had  already  put  on  his 
breathing  apparatus.  Cicely  came  third,  her  head  ap- 
peared over  the  edge  of  the  grade  ;  she  had  also  made 
up  the  lost  time. 

Crossing  the  glacier  might  offer  dangerous  surprises. 
Merrien  therefore  retraced  his  steps  to  meet  his  fellow- 
travelers.  He  expressed  his  idea  by  means  of  gestures ; 
they  approved  it. 

Tying  together  the  ropes  that  they  carried  at  their 
belts,  they  bound  themselves  one  to  another,  and  pur- 
sued the  ascent  in  single  file. 

At  the  end  of  a  few  steps,  they  were  assured  of 
the  glacier's  resistance. 

This  rested  on  the  hard  rock,  between  two  firm  walls. 


THE  CRATER.  255 

If  it  concealed  crevasses,  they  could  not  be  very  deep 
ones. 

The  trip  was  accomplished  without  great  peril,  but 
not  without  falls  and  slips  that  a  steeper  slope  would 
have  rendered  fatal. 

Arrived  at  the  opposite  brink  of  the  fissure,  and 
suffering  no  longer  from  lack  of  air,  the  three  coura- 
geous companions  recommenced  the  ascent  of  the  Cyclo- 
pean ladder. 

It  brought  them  to  a  sharp  peak  terminating  in  a 
plateau  of  forty  or  fifty  square  meters.  Merrien  inves- 
tigated the  barometer.  It  marked  an  altitude  of  eight 
thousand  and  six  meters,  the  pressure  not  surpassing 
seven  hundred  and  thirty-five  millimeters.  At  their  left 
the  summit  of  Gaurisankar  shot  up  solitary  and  alone 
from  this  point,  offering  neither  path  nor  steps.  They 
were  within  eight  hundred  and  fifty  meters  of  the  central 
peak.  But  a  hundred  feet  more  permitted  the  travelers  to 
command  a  view  of  the  peak  on  which  they  paused. 
It  is  true  that,  in  order  to  climb  to  this  furthest  point, 
it  was  necessary  to  employ  all  the  resources  of  art  which 
the  gymnasium  puts  at  the  disposition  of  a  naturally 
vigorous  man. 

Merrien  did  not  hesitate.  With  the  aid  of  hands 
and  feet  over  this  flying  surface,  stripped  of  everything 
that  could  offer  a  hold,  over  stones  that  gave  way  and 
rolled  from  under  the  feet,  he  succeeded,  bleeding  and 
bruised,  after  incredible  efforts  in  reaching  the  top. 

Then,  standing  erect  upon  a  pedestal  hardly  three 
square  meters  in  area,  on  the  highest  point  of  the  globe 
that  human  foot  had  ever  trod,  he  unfurled  the  French 
colors  at  the  end  of  his  iron  staff,  and  this  improvised 
flag  waved  in  the  mountain   breeze,    or,    to  speak  more 


256  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

truly,  hung  almost  inert,  hardly  stirred  by  the  exhausted 
breath  of  this  exhausted  atmosphere. 

The  traveler  had  reason  to  be  proud.  He  had  ac- 
complished what  no  other  had  accomplished  before 
him.  He  had  climbed  three  thousand  meters 
higher  than  Bailey,  than  Montgomery,  than  the  Schla- 
ginweit  brothers ;  than  Reuillier,  Cunningham,  Moorcroft, 
Webb,  Vigne,  Johnson,  Kooker,  and  many  others ;  he  had 
seen— seen  with  his  own  eyes— the  kernel  of  that  Maya- 
nama  chain  that  the  bandits  themselves  had  not  been 
able  to  discover. 

And  the  panorama  at  that  moment  before  his  eyes 
was  the  most  marvelous  in  the  world,  rendered  yet 
more  strange  by  the  extraordinary  phenomenon  that 
took  place  at  his  feet. 

The  gas  which  they  had  just  now  taken  for  a  car- 
pet of  moss,  which  they  had  seen  increase  and  rise  in 
clouds  about  them,  was  actually  in  full  ebullition.  No 
other  word,  indeed,  could  so  well  render  the  expand- 
ing of  the  sulphurous  and  carbonic  vapors  of  the  crater. 
The  immense  basin  resembled  those  flanged  coffee-pots 
in  which  the  fragrant  drink  is  brewed  by  the  heat  of 
the  alcohol  lighted  around  it.  It  was  full  of  blue  and 
green  smoke,  across  which  lines  of  very  pale  tlame 
occasionally  ran.  Suddenly  the  Frenchman  was  seized 
with  a  fear.  Forgetting  the  magic  spectacle,  abandoning 
his  improvised  standard  upon  the  peak  which  Major 
Plumptre  was  climbing  in  his  turn,  he  let  himself  slide 
or  rather  fall  a  dozen  meters  upon  the  edge  of  a  rock 
overhanging  the  abyss.  He  had  just  perceived  Cicely 
Weldon  prostrate  upon  that  rock,  and  giving  no  sign  of 
life.  Torn  and  bleeding,  Merrien  flung  himself  to  his 
companion's  aid,  and  raised  her  with  anguish. 


THE  CRATER.  257 

He  knew  then  what  had  happened.  The  young 
American,  overcome  by  vertigo  perhaps,  or  slipping 
on  the  round  stones  of  the  slope,  had  met  with  a  ter- 
rible fall.  It  was  by  a  miracle  that  her  clothing  caught 
on  the  arete  of  the  gulf,  and  kept  her  from  crush- 
ing herself  some  hundred  meters  further  down  against 
the  granite  steps  of  the  Cyclopean  stairway.  The 
shock  alone  would  have  sufficed  to  explain  her 
swoon.  But  this  swoon  had  another  cause.  In  her 
f^ill  the  young  girl  had  struck  against  the  projections 
of  the  rock.  Her  head  had  hit  against  a  sharp  point 
which  had  partly  broken  the  brass  helmet,  and  torn 
the  india-rubber  tube  that  served  for  the  inhalation  of 
the  oxygen. 

Jean  Merrien  came  just  in  time  ;  an  instant  later,  and 
he  would  have  found  only  a  corpse  :  Cicely  Weldon 
would  have  died  from  lack  of  air  to  breathe. 

Without  losing  an  instant,  at  the  peril  of  his  own  life, 
the  young  man  unfastened  the  straps  that  fixed  the  hel- 
met upon  Miss  Weldon's  shoulders,  and  adjusted  his  own 
there  instead. 

Then  taking  the  torn  tube  between  his  teeth,  he  set 
about  repairing  the  damage  so  far  as  was  possible. 

Coming  to  her  senses.  Cicely  appreciated  the  danger 
she  had  run.  But  at  the  same  time  realizing  her  com- 
panion's peril,  she  wished  to  return  to  him  the  apparatus 
of  which  he  had  deprived  himself  for  her  sake.  There 
was  a  struggle  of  generosity  between  the  two  young 
people. 

Finally  Merrien  made  the  brave  creature  understand 
that  this  conflict  of  devotion  would  be  injurious  to  them 
both.  She  then  resigned  herself  to  keeping  her  metal 
head-dress,   and    aided  the    Frenchman    as   well   as   she 


258 


THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 


could  in  repairing  the  broken  helmet  nnd  readjusting  the 
ruptured  india-rubber  tube.  Their  efforts,  fortunately,  were 
crowned  with  success,  and  Merrien,  who  was  bleedmg  at 
every  pore,  could  at  last  resume  his  life-preserving  mask, 
mended  and  botched  though  it  were. 


THK    FLAME    ROSE,    CLEAR    AND    BRIGHT. 


XVI. 


RIVALRY  BETWEEN  HEROES. 


The  dangers  that  confront  mountain  explorers  are 
formidable  ones,  and  the  joys  of  triumph  must  needs 
be  great  to  compensate  for  the  anxieties  with  which  mind 
and  heart  are  constantly  oppressed. 

in  the  midst  of  these  occurrences  night  came  on. 
The  three  friends  had  enjoyed  a  sunset  that  equaled  the 
dawn  in  splendor.  They  had  been  obliged  to  descend 
to  the  lower  grade  of  the  peak,  in  anticipation  of  the 
advancing  night.  Already  the  cold  was  increasing  in 
severity,  and  the  travelers  knew  that  at  such  an  alti- 
tude it  might  easily  become  fatal.  The  necessity  of 
fortifying  themselves  against  its  attacks  was  therefore 
urgent,  all  the  more  that  they  had  no  heat  other  than 
that  of  the  body  to  hope  for,  and  the  rarefaction  of 
the  air  would  not  permit  a    fire  to  be   started   on   these 

barren  crests. 

259 


26o  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

What,  then,  was  Plumptre's  astonishment,  when, 
mchanically  striking  a  match,  he  saw  the  (lame  rise  bright 
and  clear  among  the  shadows.  The  Himalaya  had  given 
them  one  more  of  those  surprises  which  had  marked  each 
stage  of  their  ascent.  For  the  match  to  burn  thus  freely, 
there  must  of  necessity  be  some  respirable  air  upon  the 
peak. 

In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  Merrien  had  unfastened  the 
copper  helmet,  an  example  that  his  companions  hastened 
to  follow  ;  and  after  taking  a  long  breath  of  the  cool, 
delicious  evening  air,  all  three  exchanged  their  impressions 
on  the  singularity  of  the  phenomenon. 

"Truly,"  said  Cicely,  ''  we  go  from  marvel  to  marvel, 
it  is  now  certain  that  the  Himalayas  resemble  no  other 
mountains.  All  scientists  agree  in  stating  that  after 
passing  seven  thousand  meters'  altitude,  life  on  the  peaks 
is  an  impossibility." 

''  Doubtless,"  affirmed  Merrien,  ''and  the  scientists  are 
right.  It  is  an  absolute  rule.  But  every  rule  has  its  ex- 
ceptions. It  is  a  possibility ;  and  what  makes  it  possible 
for  us  is  that  a  local  elaboration  of  gas  renews  the  oxygen 
in  the  air  over  a  limited  space,  and  prevents  its  waste 
in  the  ambient  layers.  If  the  doctor  were  here,  he 
could  explain  it  to  us  better." 

''We  have  no  need  of  the  doctor  to  see  that  you 
must  be  right,  my  dear  Merrien,"  said  Plumptre. 
"We  must  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  great  natural 
pot  bubbling  under  its  cover,  the  steam  of  which  forms 
a  sort  of  cylindrical  tube  which  preserves  us  from  the 
surrounding  rarefaction.  That  is  my  explanation,  and 
I  take  it  to  be  clear  and  luminous." 

The  officer  laughed  as  he  spoke,  pointing  to  a  sort 
of  milky  mist  which  formed  a  cylinder  about  the  platform^ 


RIVALRY  BETWEEN  HEROES.  ,        261 

like  a  vast  well  at  the  opening  of  which  a  round  dark 
blue  spot,  picked  out  with  stars,  testified  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  firmament. 

*'Parbleu!"  cried  the  Frenchman  gayly,  ''you  are 
right,  my  dear  Plumptre  ;  we  are  on  a  boiler.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  now  that  this  boiler  has  safety  valves,  and  will 
not  explode  under  our  feet."  He  ran  to  the  edge  of 
the  platform  and  called  loudly  to  his  friends  : 

''  Oh  !  "  said  the  major,  who  had  most  decidedly  a  gift 
for  exact  metaphors.     ''  Sugar  in  a  punch  !  " 

The  sight  was  at  once  magnificent  and  terrifying. 
5ix  hundred  meters  below  them  the  entire  basin  was 
in  flames.  The  flames,  visibly  fed  by  a  subterranean 
reservoir,  rose  in  delicate  spirals  to  a  height  of  two 
hundred  or  three  hundred  feet,  licking  the  sides  of  the 
peak  with  their  bluish  tongues,  and  sending  their  strange 
light,  which  had  so  struck  Plumptre,  into  the  cloud  of 
smoke. 

The  snow  of  the  rocks  melted  at  their  contact,  but 
the  water,  vaporizing  immediately,  gave  to  the  atmos- 
phere its  proper  proportion  of  oxygen.  Enormous 
paleocrystic  blocks  were  worn  away  on  the  upper 
strata,  and  from  this  perpetual  exchange  of  forces  arose 
the  soft  humid  temperature  by  which  the  travelers  were 
blessed  on  their  fairy  observatory. 

Meanwhile  they  had  returned  to  the  center  of  the 
platform  and  kept  silence  for  a  long  time,  not  daring 
to  communicate  their  fears  to  each  other.  Merrien  spoke 
first : 

"The  picture  is  magnificent,"  he  said,  ''but  it  is 
not  reassuring.  1  no  longer  fear  an  explosion,  to  tell 
the  truth  ;  but  1  dread  now  one  of  two  equally  serious 
calamities." 


262  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

''Explain  yourself?"  asked  the  major  and  Miss 
Weldon    simultaneously. 

"Alas!"  said  Merrien  sadly,  ''one  hypothesis  is  as 
good  as  the  other :  either  the  phenomenon  will  quickly 
come  to  an  end,  and  without  taking  into  account  the 
lack  of  air  which  will  again  distress  us,  we  shall  suffer 
from  terrible  cold  without  the  shadow  of  a  hope  of 
succor ;  or  else  it  will  be  prolonged,  and  then  we 
may  die  of  hunger  on  the  summit,  for  we  cannot  think 
for  a  moment  of  going  down  again  into  that  Gehenna." 

Silence  fell  upon  the  group  again  more  heavily  than 
ever,  for  everyone  comprehended  that  the  situation  was 
critical. 

"At  least,"  said  the  Scotchman,  with  a  nervous 
gayety,  "we  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  being  present 
at  an  incomparable  sunrise." 

"Meanwhile,"  replied  Merrien,  "we  shall  do  wisely 
to  utilize  such  hours  of  respite  as  are  granted  us. 
Sleep  will  do  us  much  good,  and,  if  the  volcano  does 
break  out,  we  shall  be  spared  the  pangs  of  death." 

The  advice  was  approved.  They  unpacked  their 
knapsacks,  wrapped  themselves  in  blankets,  and,  a 
little  later,  were  sleeping  with  their  hands  gripping  the 
hard  and  naked  rock,  protected  by  the  wall  of  vapor 
that  enveloped  them.  It  might  have  been  three  in  the 
morning  when  they  were  wakened  by  the  severe  cold. 

The  first  of  Merrien's  hypotheses  was  realized.  The 
column  of  mist  had  been  dissipated.  The  stars  were 
shining  in  the  fathomless  depths  of  the  still  dusky 
heavens. 

On  the  southeastern  horizon,  behind  the  enormous 
screen  of  Kinchinjinga,  a  growing  spot  of  white  an- 
nounced the  distant   daybreak. 


RIl^ALRY  BETIVEEN  HEROES.  26 


J 


"  B-r-r ! "  said  Cicely,  shivering.  "Tiiis  cold  is  mortal  ! 
What  will  become  of  us  ?  '* 

Merrieii  had  already  consulted  the  thermometer.  The 
temperature  was  falling  with  frightful  rapidity.  The 
column  of  mercury  descended  moment  by  moment ;  it 
presently  indicated  twenty-six  degrees  below  zero. 

At  the  same  time  oppression  and  vertigo  exercised 
their  demoralizing  influence.  They  were  obliged  to  don 
their  metal  helmets  in  haste. 

"  We  must  descend  at  once,"  said  Plumptre. 

This  was  the  last  word  spoken.  And  as  the  two 
men  beheld  their  young  companion  almost  sinking  un- 
der the  intolerable  cold,  a  common  impulse  of  devotion 
sent  them  toward  her.  Merrien  reached  her  first,  and 
threw  his  cloak  over  Cicely's  shoulders.  She  was 
trembling,  and  unable  to  support  herself. 

in  every  ascent,  the  dangers  multiply  in  the  descent. 
It  seems  as  though  the  guardian  spirits  of  these  sum- 
mits, forced  from  their  seclusion,  wished  to  take  a 
malicious  revenge,  and,  ashamed  of  having  been  unable 
to  guard  the  places  committed  to  thejr  care,  determine 
to  multiply  obstacles  and  dangers  in  the  pathway  of 
their  conquerors. 

The  three  daring  pioneers  had  been  two  hours  in 
climbing  the  peak.  It  took  four  hours  for  them  to 
reach,  through  a  thousand  difficulties,  the  rocks  at  the 
base,  and  the  first  grade  of  the  basin. 

Ten  times  Merrien  and  Plumptre  were  obliged  to  go 
to  the  aid  of  the  young  American.  The  poor  child  had 
too  greatly  presumed  upon  her  strength.  At  last  she 
swooned,  and  the  two  friends,  filled  with  anxiety,  were 
obliged  to  carry  their  helpless  companion  across  the 
low  ground  already  filled    with    rising    vapor.     On    the 


264  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

margin  Cicely  revived  for  a  moment,  nnd  as  the  use  of 
tiie  breathing  tube  was  no  longer  indispensable,  she 
could  respond  to  the  eager  questions  of  her  friends. 

Upon  seeing  the  anxiety  betrayed  in  their  faces  she 
gave  a  pale  smile,  and  stretched  out  her  hands  to- 
them. 

''  Oh,  my  friends  ! "  she  said,  in  a  voice  full  of  emotion, 
"how  can  I  ever  express  my  gratitude  to  you?" 

"  By  never  speaking  of  it,"  said  the  major  gayly. 
''Now  that  you  are  out  of  danger  we  are  satisfied.  But 
are  you  strong  enough  to  finish  the  descent  by  way 
of  the  flue?" 

Cicely  tried  to  rise.  Her  strength  failed,  and  a  fresh 
attack  of  faintness  caused  her  to  drop  back  into  the  arms, 
of  her  alarmed  companions. 

What  were  they  going  to  do  ?  What  could  they  do 
before  such  a  grave  complication  ? 

While  they  had  only  to  descend  the  rocky  steps, 
or  cross  the  glaciers  or  deep  valleys,  it  had  been  pos- 
sible for  them  to  carry  their  young  companion,  relieving 
each  other  and  allowing  themselves  necessary  periods 
of  rest ;  this  task,  fatiguing  though  it  was,  was  not  over- 
powering. But  now  the  difficulty  changed  its  aspect.  It 
became  in  a  way  insurmountable. 

How  could  they  indeed  try  to  carry  the  young  girl 
through  this  narrow  passage,  so  contracted,  duriig  a 
portion  of  its  length,  that  there  was  only  room  for  one 
person  to  go  through?  Doubtless  the  oblique  neck  of 
the  flue  would  render  it  possible  for  the  travelers  to 
enter  the  crypt.  But  that  was  only  the  first  sttp. 
How  could  they  afterward  descend  the  vertical  flue 
for  a  distance  of  fiftv  or  sixty  meters  ? 

For  a  moment  the  two  men  faltered   under  the  dis- 


RIJ/ALRY  BETIVEEN  HEROES.  265 

coLiraging  circumstances.  Tears  rose  to  their  eyes  and 
ran  down  their  cheeks.  Were  they  then  condemned  to 
die  upon  that  inaccessible  platform,  forsaken  by  God  and 
man  ? 

Fortunately  this  failure  of  energy  was  of  short  dura- 
tion. Merrien  rose  and  ran  to  the  orifice  of  the  first 
flue. 

He  lay  on  the  ground  and  called  with  all  his  strength  ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  instead  of  noisily  vibrating  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  narrow  conduit,  his  voice  was  driven  back 
as  if  by  a  vast  current  of  air. 

Jean  Merrien  rose  in  considerable  surprise,  and  sought 
the  second  opening.  Then  the  singular  fact  was  ex- 
plained. The  vertical  flue  no  longer  existed.  In  its  place 
a  frightful  gap  had  appeared.  The  vault  of  the  crypt  had 
caved  in  along  its  entire  length,  and  an  enormous  heap 
of  stones  and  earth  had  formed  before  the  entrance  of  the 
cavern.  Doubtless  the  explanation  of  the  vapor  which 
they  had  beheld  from  the  top  of  the  peak  had  been  coin- 
cident with  an  earthquake  which  they  had  not  perceived 
during  their  sleep.  Some  great  outburst  of  gas  under 
considerable  pressure  had  staved  in  the  rocky  wall  of 
mica  schist  and  limestone,  which  offered  little  resistance. 
The  young  Frenchman  returned  in  despair  to  his  com- 
panions. Cicely  had  recovered  consciousness  ;  the  pure 
air  of  the  mountains,  entering  her  lungs,  had  dissipated 
the  giddiness  of  the  first  hour  or  two,  and  she  com- 
menced to  shake  off  the  deadly  torpor  which  had  taken 
possession  of  her.  She  heard  and  spoke  without  effort, 
but  at  the  news  that  Merrien  brought  she  was  over- 
come by  violent  emotion,  and  wept  profusely  at  the 
thouQfht  of  the  fate  of  their  companions. 

"  Oh,  the  poor  people  !  "  she  groaned.     "  Perhaps  they 


266  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

have  been  surprised  by  the  catastrophe,  and  buried  under 
the  wall  of  the  vault." 

Fortunately  their  fears  were  not  to  be  prolonged. 
While,  at  the  height  of  their  grief,  the  three  friends 
were  lamenting  the  horrible  accident,  a  cry  from  the 
still  intact  orifice  of  the  second  flue  caused  them  all  to 
turn  simultaneously. 

Dr.  MacGregor  was  standing  on  the  brink,  with  a 
hilarious  expression,  his  hands  outstretched.  It  was  he 
who  had  called.  Behind  him  the  rest  of  the  company, 
safe  and  sound,  emerged,  one  by  one,  from  the  tunnel. 
Goulab,  the  Breton,  Christi,  and  the  two  Hindus  ad- 
vanced in  turn. 

''You  are  not  dead,  then  !"  cried  Plumptre,  embracing 
all  the  newcomers  with  delight. 

''Dead!  And  why,  if  you  please?"  inquired  the  as- 
tonished physician. 

"  Heavens  !  "  said  Merrien,  laughing,  "  when  we  saw  the 
caving  in  of  the  flue  we  were  mightily  troubled  about  you." 

"As  we  were  troubled  about  you,  by  Jove !  " 

"That  proves  that  we  heartily  love  each  other, 
blessed  be  God  !  " 

"  But  since  the  vertical  flue  has  fallen  in,  how  did  you 
get  up  ?    By  aid  of  the  new  hooks  ?  " 

It  was  Euzen  Graec'h  who  replied,  with  the  energy  of 
the  true  sailor : 

"Ah!  ouiche  !  They  are  under  at  least  two  thou- 
sand meters  of  earth.  It  will  be  a  smart  fellow  who 
finds  them.  No,  we  were  luckier  than  that.  Gauri- 
sankar  himself  cut  our  road  for  us,  making  a  stairway 
for  us  as  far  as  the  second  landing.  We  have  had 
only  to  mount,  putting  one  foot  before  the  other,  and 
that  is  all  you  will  have  to  do  to  descend." 


EUZEN    GRAEC'H    PLACKU    THE    YOUNG    GIRL    ON    HIS    SHOULUKK. 


268  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

After  mutual  congratulations,  and  narrating  on  both 
sides  the  various  phases  of  the  cataclysm,  they  set  out 
to  regain  the  valley  as  soon  as  possible.  And  as  Cicely 
could  walk  only  with  extreme  difficulty,  Euzen  Graec'h 
approached  her  respectfully  : 

"Will  you  permit  me?"  he  asked.  ''You  weigh 
hardly  more  than  my  knapsack."  The  giant  lightly 
caught  up  the  supple  form  of  the  young  girl,  and 
with  a  couple  of  movements,  placed  her  on  his  left 
shoulder. 

"When  the  tunnel  becomes  too  narrow  for  two," 
he  added  gayly,  "  why,  m'amselle,  we'll  try  to  find 
some  way  to  let  you  slide  gently  down." 

Cicely  lent  herself  laughingly  to  this  mode  of  trans- 
portation, and  the  Breton  got  along  so  well  that  she 
arrived  without  mishap  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley, 
at  the  same  time  as  the  rest  of  the  column.  Once 
there  they  resumed  the  recital  of  their  experiences,  and 
each  took  his  share  in  dispute  or  narration.  Their 
appetites  were  keenly  sharpened,  and  now  that  they 
knew  that  they  were  safe,  they  hastened  to  revive 
their  famished  stomachs.  Salem-Bun  dashed  their  en- 
thusiasm. 

"Sahibs,  the  dinner  will  not  be  all  that  it  ought. 
Siva  has  taken  the  best  of  our  provisions  for  himself." 

The  Mohammedan  laughed,  pointing  to  the  crumbling 
wall  under  which  the  venison  of  the  day  before  was 
buried  forever. 

"No  matter,  Salem,"  cried  Plumptre,  "we  will  break- 
fast on  what  there  is.  Afterward  we'll  see  to  replenish- 
ing your  larder." 

This  meal  was  the  last  they  took  in  the  high  valley 
In  the  afternoon  Miss  Weldon   pronounced   herself  suffi- 


RIVALRY  BETWEEN  HEROES.  269 

ciently  restored  to  take  up  the  march  again.  It  was 
now  the  20th  of  May.  The  monsoon  of  June  would 
bring  a  great  change  in  the  temperature,  and  it  would 
not  be  well  to  be  on  the  mountain  under  much  colder 
winds.  It  was  urgently  necessary,  then,  to  get  down  to 
the  valleys  as  soon  as  possible.  By  the  Ouallangchun 
pass  they  could  quickly  reach  the  base  of  Kinchinjinga 
or  of  the  Singalila  mountains.  They  would  then  have 
crossed  the  Nepal  frontier  to  find  themselves  in  Sikhim, 
from  whence  a  fortnight's  march  would  suffice  to  bring 
the  travelers  to  Darjiling.  That  is  to  say,  at  the  head 
of  the  railway  to  Calcutta.  The  descent  of  the  valleys 
was  made  without  much  difficulty,  but  not  without  some 
regret  for  those  charming  regions  where  they  had  found 
repose  after  incredible  f^itigue.  The  explorers'  last  look, 
when  they  reached  the  lowest  terrace,  embraced  the 
entire  central  mass  of  Everest,  and  there  upon  the  peak 
which  they  had  scaled  the  day  before,  Merrien,  PI  ump- 
ire, and  Cicely  Weldon  could  proudly  contemplate  the 
three  flags  which  they  had  planted  upon  a  crest  up 
to  that  moment  believed  to  be  inaccessible.  The  colors 
of  France  floated  upon  the  highest  rock.  Merrien, 
Graec'h,  and  Goulab  saluted  it  with  shouts. 

"  Alas  !"  exclaimed  the  Frenchman,  ''  we  only  reached 
a  height  of  eight  thousand  and  eighty  meters.  We  were 
within  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five  of  treading  the  virgin 
ice  of  Chingo-pa-mari." 

"  Well  !  "  cried  the  major,  ''  let  someone  else  do  better, 
if  he  can.  For  my  part,  I  shall  only  return  when  the 
English  Government  has  established  an  improved  eleva- 
tor, with  inhaling  rooms  for  ascensionists." 

They  broke  out  in  laughter  at  this  idea.  When  they 
<:  ime  to  a  narrow  gorge  at  the  bottom   of  which    roared 


2  70  THE  LAND   OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

the  raging  waters  of  the  Barun,  the  doctor  pointed  out 
to  his  companions  the  path  of  a  gigantic  land-slide,  where 
uprooted  trees,  and  hanging  rocks  and  earth  still  men- 
aced disaster,  while  the  base  and  devastated  face  of 
the  mountain  was  still  bleeding  from  the  recent  wound. 
All  eyes  filled  with  tears  at  this  picture,  and  the  cruel 
remembrance  haunted  the  minds  of  all. 

"\i  is  there  that  poor  Knebel  is  sleeping  his  last 
sleep,"  murmured  Cicely,  kneeling  in  prayer,  while  her 
companions  reverently  bared  their  heads  before  the 
vast  tomb  made  by  the  avalanche  for  the  unfortunate 
American. 

Hardly  a  week  had  passed  since  the  catastrophe, 
but  looking  back  over  the  exciting  events  of  their 
course,  it  seemed  to  the  travelers  that  years  had  rolled 
by  since  the  tragedy. 

Their  trials  were  not  yet  at  an  tnd. 

While  the  courageous  comrades,  now  satisfied  with 
their  experiment,  were  regaining  the  level  of  the  val- 
leys, the  fanatical  hatred  of  the  worshipers  of  Siva 
was  preparing  new  snares  for  them.  Ramu  had  not 
yet  laid  aside  his  rage,  and  some  thirty  fanatics,  who 
had  sworn  to  pursue  with  him  his  work  of  ferocious 
vengeance,  had  accompanied  him  in  his  course  across 
the  Mayanama  mountains. 

Since  the  fruitless  attack  at  Pangmo,  and  their  dis- 
persal by  the  sudden  intervention  of  the  wild  dogs, 
the  devotees  of  the  Fire-God  had  lost  track  of  the  ex- 
plorers. Obliged  to  flee  before  the  dholes,  they  had 
been  forced  to  let  the  travelers  get  much  the  start  ot 
them,  and  in  spite  of  their  promptness  in  recovering 
the  scent,  the  assassins  had  found  them  again  for  the  first 


RIVALRY  BETWEEN  HEROES.  271 

time  at  the  foot  of  the  Thung-lung  pnss.  This  was  st  11  at 
too  high  a  level  for  the  Hindus  to  endure  the  rigors  of  the 
icy  nights. 

Many  of  them  had  already  succumbed  among  tlie 
precipices  of  these  dizzy  regions.  Others  had  been  killed 
by  cold  and  hunger. 

But  the  implacable  Ramu  held  to  his  promises.  This 
man  had  the  tenacity  and  the  patience  of  his  race.  Capa- 
ble of  dissimulating  his  plans  to  any  extent,  he  encouraged 
his  savage  accomplices  in  the  pursuit  of  his  sanguinary 
projects  by  inflammatory  utterances  and  promises  of  hap- 
piness in  another  life.  A  truly  infernal  energy  sustained 
him,  and  with  the  scent  of  a  bloodhound  tracking  his 
prey,  he  guided  his  little  troop  of  bandits  to  the  places 
where  they  believed  the  travelers  would  be  apt  to  find 
the  best  road. 

it  was  useless  for  the  bandits  to  undertake  the  climb- 
ing of  the  peak.  Now  that  the  sacred  mass  had  been 
violated  by  sacrilegious  feet,  now  that  Siva  and  Parvati 
had  received  the  crudest  insult  and  inexpiable  offense,  it 
mattered  little  that  the  desecraters  should  mount  to  a 
greater  or  less  height.  The  essential  thing  was  to  punish 
them  for  their  abominable  crime. 

Thus,  after  having  taken  all  the  precautions  necessary 
to  avoid  missing  the  chance  of  meeting  again  with  the 
odious  white  men,  Ramu  finally  led  his  companions 
toward  the  Singalila  passes,  that  is  to  say,  into  the  zones 
where  the  average  height  of  the  chain  permits  inhabitants 
of  warmer  regions  to  sojourn  without  too  greatly  feeling 
the  difference  in  the  temperature. 

He  consequently  entered  one  of  the  narrowest  of  the 
gorges  that  overlooked  Darjiling.  It  was  a  bold  experi- 
ment.    So  near  an  English  town,  almost  entirely  occupied 


272  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

by  a  white  population,  it  was  truly  dangerous  presump- 
tion to  attempt  an  attack  against  the  explorers.  But  it 
was  the  last  chance  that  remained  to  the  fanatics.  Their 
number  was  considerably  reduced.  There  were  not  more 
than  a  dozen  left,  and  that  was  few  against  the  num- 
ber of  their  adversaries.  They  were  obliged  to  move 
by  strategy  to  attack  the  Europeans  singly,  and  to 
mark  each  march  of  the  column  by  a  murder. 

When  he  was  very  sure  of  being  on  the  right  track, 
when  his  emissaries  had  notified  him  that  the  explorers, 
after  crossing  the  Ouallangchun  pass  and  the  Kanki 
road,  were  proceeding  by  way  of  the  gorges  which  fur- 
nished them  with  quite  an  easy  road  to  Darjiling,  Ramu 
addressed  his  accomplices  in  a  harangue  more  inflam- 
matory in  proportion  to  the  greater  amount  of  resolu- 
tion and  skill  required  by  the  circumstances. 

The  moment  was  come  to  give  the  Mahadeva  the 
most  striking  proof  of  their  fidelity.  Since  they  had 
not  been  able  to  prevent  accursed  foreigners  from  vio- 
lating the  natural  sanctuary  of  Death  and  of  Renewing,  it 
was  a  sign  that  Siva  had  preserved  the  culprits  for  a 
more  complete  expiation.  The  secret  of  their  abominable 
desecration  must  die  with  them,  and  after  having  ex- 
perienced the  criminal  joy  of  penetrating  to  the  inac- 
cessible recesses  ot  the  mountain,  they  would  have  the 
disappointment  of  an  obscure  end,  without  having 
shared  their  discoveries  with  their  fellow-countrymen. 

''As  for  me,"  cried  the  fanatic,  "I  am  resolved  to 
undertake  anything  to  give  to  the  divine  flame  the 
satisfaction  it  demands,  and  1  will  lay  down  my  life 
joyfully  in  this  holy  enterprise.  But  nothing  will  be 
gained  by  dying  without  having  perfected  our  task,  and 
Siva  will  be  the   better   pleased   with   our  death,    if  we 


RIVALRY  BETIVEEN  HEROES.  273 

offer  him  first  the  souls  of  the  victims  he  has  himself 
chosen." 

^  Having  uttered  these  words,  he  gave  his  orders  and 
sent  out  his  satellites  into  all  the  passages  by  which 
he  could  anticipate  and  await  the  coming  of  the  ex- 
plorers. Hidden  behind  rocks,  concealed  by  the  trunks 
of  trees  and  high  grasses,  the  bandits  armed  with  noose 
and  poniard,  some  even  with  rifles,  crouched  like 
wild  beasts  on  the  watch  for  patiently  expected  prey. 
Ramu  had  warned  them. 

If  the  enemy  appeared  in  full  force,  they  were  not  to 
hesitate  to  use  firearms.  It  would  suffice  to  the  Maha- 
deva  of  Death  if  the  leaders  of  the  troop  were  offered  up 
to  him  according  to  the  most  acceptable  rite,  that  is  to 
say  by  strangling.  The  others  might  be  put  to  death  in 
the  quickest  way.  Things  stood  thus  when  one  of  the 
followers,  posted  on  a  very  high  rock,  perceived  the  col- 
umn advancing  through  the  narrow  valley.  He  went  at 
once  to  notify  Ramu,  who  hastened  to  gather  his  men 
together  in  preparation  for  an  immediate  attack.  The 
bandits  dispersed  for  sharpshooting  to  get  the  advantage 
of  a  surprise  and  the  first  shots. 

"  Glory  to  our  gods!"  murmured  Ramu,  who  was 
giving  the  rifles  to  the  best  marksmen  of  the  band. 
"  Glory  to  our  gods  who  deliver  the  enemy  into  our 
hands  without  defense !  How  the  mountains  profaned  by 
them  will  be  cleansed  by  the  sacrifice  that  we  are  about 
to  offer  up  !  Glory  be  to  Siva  the  Renewer,  glory  be 
to  Kali,  goddess  of  strength  and  beauty,  queen  of  all 
worlds  ! " 


x^s'v^\>^-,--^#;-,^ 


PLUMPTRE   GOT    RID   OF   THE   MAN. 


XVII. 

THE  DEATH  OF  A  HERO. 

At  this  very  moinent  the  travelers,  almost  at  their 
journey's  end,  were  rejoicing  over  the  fortunate  outcome 
of  their  expedition.  Henceforth  they  had  no  further  ob- 
stacles to  fear.  They  were  about  to  receive  their  re- 
ward for  their  labors,  their  sufferings,  and  their  losses. 
And  the  recompense  came  to  them  first  in  the  form 
of  congratulations  from  their  fellow-men,  all  the  English 
and  the  foreigners  assembled  in  the  Darjiling  sanitarium  ; 
then  the  multitudinous  voice  of  fame,  extending  over  the 
entire  globe,  would  hear  their  names,  forever  glorious 
upon  the  four  winds  of  heaven. 

To  insure  their  return  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions Dr.  MacGregor  had  made  the  prudent  suggestion 
that  they  should  notify    the  English    posts   of    Sikhim. 

Consequently,  as  soon  as  the  frontier  was   crossed  the 

275 


276  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

travelers  hnd  sent  one  of  the  Lepcha  mountaineers  from 
the  Banks  of  Tista  with  a  message  to  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  first  detachment  that  he  should  come  to. 
hi  order  not  to  miss  a  chance  of  encounter,  the  little 
troop  resolved  to  separate  into  three  groups,  as  it  had 
frequently  done  before,  and  to  follow  along  parallel 
lines  the  most  frequented  roads  in  which  they  would 
have  the  best  chance  of  meeting  English  soldiers.  It 
was  agreed  that  they  should  keep  as  short  a  distance 
apart  as  possible,  in  order  to  warn  each  other  by  the 
firing  of  a  gun,  either  on  the  hoped  for  meeting  or  on 
the  presence  of  any  danger.  This  last  hypothesis  was 
indeed  very  probable  in  a  region  more  savage  than 
Nepal  itself,  the  enormous  thickets  of  which  might  con- 
ceal not  only  bandits,  but  also  dangerous  beasts.  Sik- 
him  may,  in  this  regard,  be  likened  to  the  thickest 
jungles  or  most  somber  forests  of  Tarai,  of  which  Ma- 
hanadi,  Kanki,  and  the  Tista,  are  only  the  gradually 
rising  prolongation.  Fortunately  the  descent  of  the 
Singalila  offered  no  insurmountable  difficulties,  and  the 
gorges  of  Kanki  and  the  Roman  had  none  of  those 
frightful  cluses  which  confine  and  strangle  the  torrents 
of  the  high  Himalayas.  In  proportion  as  the  levels  be- 
came lower,  the  chains  of  buttresses  dominating  each 
other,  it  became  relatively  easy  to  keep  up  communi- 
cation between  the  three  groups.  Moreover,  a  rule  from 
which  they  would  not  depart  was  to  draw  together 
each  time  that  they  came  to  a  wood  or  thicket  of  any 
extent.  In  that  way  they  would  always  be  numerous 
enough  to  meet  an  unexpected  danger. 

They  had  marched  two  days,  observing  this  same  order, 
when  Ramu's  spy  notified  his  brigand  brothers  of  the 
approach  of  the  troop.     He  had  not  taken  time  to  as- 


THE  DEATH  OF  A  HERO.  ^-jj 

certain  the  number.  It  chnnced  that  the  advancing  group 
was  composed  of  Major  Plumptre  and  the  two  Hindus. 

At  a  turn  in  the  road  the  assistant  cook  stopped 
with  a  gesture  of  alarm.  He  had  just  noticed  an  un- 
usual noise,  something  like  a  modulated  whistle  in  a 
peculiar  rhythm.  The  ear  of  an  Indian  cannot  be  de- 
ceived. That  was  not  a  noise  born  in  the  throat  of 
any  animal  whatsoever.  It  was  certainly  a  signal  sent  to 
some  band  of  dacoits  ambushed  among  the  rocks  and 
undergrowth. 

''Did  you  hear  that?"  asked  the  domestic  of  Major 
Plumptre. 

''No,"  said  Plumptre,  who  had  suspected  nothing,  but 
who,  at  his  servant's  warning,  put  himself  at  once  upon 
the  defensive. 

He  halted  and  raised  his  carbine  to  his  shoulder. 
Salem-Bun  and  the  assistant  cook  imitated  him. 

Another  whistle,  which  was  heard  this  time  by  all 
three,  sounded  a  very  short  distance  away,  and  suddenly 
the  cook  gave  a  cry  which  was  echoed  by  a  report.  At 
the  same  moment  the  Hindu  reeled,  while  a  stream  of 
blood  streaked  the  brown  skin  of  his  left  leg.  Poor 
Salem  seemed  to  be  suffering  cruelly. 

"  1  am  wounded,  sahib,"  he  said,  with  difficujty. 

The  major  supported  him  in  his  arms  and  drew  him 
quickly  under  the  shelter  of  a  high  rock.  There  he  made 
him  sit  down  while  he  glanced  rapidly  at  the  wound. 
The  ball  had  plowed  a  deep  furrow  in  the  flesh,  but 
having  struck  obliquely  was  not  buried  therein.  Plump- 
tre tore  up  his  handkerchief,  and  hastily  bound  up  the 
wound. 

A  second  report  rang  out— a  second  ball  rebounded 
from  the  rock. 


278  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

But  a  fleck  of  smoke  rising  above  the  path  showed 
the  officer  from  which  side  the  attack  came. 

Crouching  close  to  the  wall,  he  advanced  to  the  outer 
corner,  and  surveyed  the  opposite  line  of  rocks. 

They  had  reached  a  sort  of  crossroads  of  a  wild 
beauty,  in  the  center  foamed  a  torrent,  a  tributary  of  the 
Roman  or  the  Ranjit  with  shallow  but  icy  waters.  Up- 
turned rocks,  enormous  bowlders  rounded  and  polished 
by  the  centuries,  and  the  long  and  frequent  rains  of  that 
humid  country,  served  as  arches  to  a  rustic  bridge 
made  of  an  uprooted  tree,  so  worm-eaten  that  no  one 
would  dare  to  set  foot  upon  it.  Trees  of  all  species — 
oaks,  chestnuts,  poplars— bordered  the  impetuous  stream, 
and  giant  rhododendrons,  geraniums  four  or  five  yards 
in  breadth,  extended  their  thick  full-sapped  vegetation 
in  all  directions.  Heath,  ferns  of  innumerable  varieties, 
saxifrage  and  giant  begonias,  and  orchids  of  all  kinds 
and  shapes  decorated  the  earth  like  a  flower  bed  with 
all  the  colors  of  an  exuberant  flora. 

It  was  plain  that  they  were  approaching  the  low 
and  warm   countries ;    the  Tarai    was  not  far  off  now. 

Plumptre  made  a  sign  to  the  assistant  cook,  who 
approached. 

"Listen,"  said  he,  ''we  do  not  know  the  number 
of  our  adversaries.  We  must  hold  out  to  the  point  of 
death  in  order  to  permit  our  companions  to  gain  the 
English  cantonments  as  soon  as  possible.  Furthermore, 
we  have  been  able  to  send  word  ahead,  and  this  is 
certainly  not  the  route  that  the  soldiers   have  followed." 

The  Hindu  nodded  affirmatively.  It  was  not  his 
business  to  fight,  nor  was  he  engaged  for  such  ser- 
vice, but  since  necessity  imposed  it,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  defend  themselves,  he  would  do  his  best.- 


THE  DEATH  OF  A   HERO.  279 

Oriental  fatalism  kept  him,  moreover,  from  rebelling 
against  the  decrees  of  destiny.  He  put  his  rifle  to  his 
shoulder  and  waited. 

Suddenly,  on  the  point  of  a  rock  a  dark  head  ap- 
peared, soon  followed  by  a  bronzed  body.  The  man 
was  naked.  He  slid  like  a  serpent  over  the  slippery  rock, 
and  his  manifest  intention  was  to  let  himself  fall  into 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  more  easily  to  turn  the 
enemy's  flank. 

The  enemy,  represented  now  by  the  major  himself, 
covered  him  with  his  rifle,  watching  his  every  move- 
ment. 

The  Thug  looked  in  all  directions.  He  went  on  his 
hands  and  knees,  a  poniard  between  his  teeth,  a  noose 
thrown  around  his  neck,  his  head,  in  the  position  that 
he  occupied,  was  lower  than  his  shoulders.  He  overhung 
the  stream. 

Plumptre  had  only  to  press  the  trigger.  The  target 
was  too  beautiful  to  resist.  His  ball  struck  the  Indian 
between  the  shoulder  blades,  breaking  the  vertebras  of 
the  neck.  The  bandit  tumbled  over  into  the  foaming 
waters  which  covered  him.     He  was  dead  indeed. 

"That  makes  one,"  said  the  major,  quickly  reload- 
ing his  gun. 

The  major  had  a  prejudice  in  favor  of  single-ball 
rifles,  and  held  repeating  rifles  in  but  moderate  esteem. 
They  were  only  good,  he  affirmed,  for  shooting  beasts, 
whose  rapid  and  irregular  movements  often  failed  to  give 
the  hunter  a  chance  to  reload. 

"But,"  he  added,  "in  all  other  cases  the  mere  act  of 
removing  and  replacing  the  cartridge  relaxes  the  arms 
sufficiently  for  the  marksman  to  take  a  more  careful 
aim." 


28o  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

The  death  of  their  comrade  exasperated  the  fanatics. 
Forgetful  of  prudence,  or  perhaps  aware  of  the  inferior 
number  of  their  adversaries,  they  leaped  simultaneously 
from  the  crannies  and  hollows  of  the  road,  and  rushed 
to  the  assault  with  cries  of  fury. 

In  an  instant  they  crowned  the  crests  of  the  rocks 
which  inclosed  both  path  and  river,  and  looking  down 
upon  the  little  group,  fired  into  it. 

"Ah!"  said  the  major,  "1  am  hit." 

A  ball  had  just  struck  his  thigh,  causing  him  hor- 
rible suffering.  He  could  keep  up  only  by  the  greatest 
effort. 

Meanwhile  Salem-Bun,  who  had  bound  up  his  own 
wound,  was  ready,  together  with  his  companion,  to  re- 
turn the  enemy's  fire. 

"Let  us,"  commanded  the  officer,  "aim  first  at 
those  who  have  rifles." 

Unfortunately  the  reverses  the  Hindus  had  sustained 
in  their  previous  engagements  had  rendered  them  cau- 
tious. They  had  learned  to  mistrust  the  terrible  Euro- 
pean rifles.  The  besieged  could  nowhere  behold  a  head 
or  an  arm  which  could  serve  as  a  target. 

Absorbed  by  the  surveillance  that  they  exercised 
over  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  the  Scotchman 
and  his  companions  paid  little  regard  to  the  rocks 
which  surrounded  them,  thinking  them  too  difficult  and 
too  high  for  the  assailants  to  dare  risk  an  assault  from 
that  side. 

Suddenly  the  officer  gave  a  cry.  An  arm  had  just 
seized  him  by  the  body,  and  with  lightning  rapidity  a 
running  noose  had  encircled  his  neck. 

But  Plumptre's  strength  served  him  well.  With  a 
blow  from  the  shoulder  he  got  rid  of  the  man  who  hung 


THE  DEATH  OF  A   HERO.  281 

upon  his  back,  while,  kicking  backward,  he  half  staved  in 
the  stomach  of  a  second  assailant. 

The  latter  did  not  live  long.  Salem-Bun  dealt  him  a 
blow  back  of  the  ear  with  his  gun-stock  and  shattered 
his  skull. 

But  the  other  one,  before  falling  under  a  blow  from  the 
butt  end  of  the  assistant  cook's  rifle,  had  time  to  plunge 
his  kriss  between  the  majors  ribs,  and  even  to  strike  the 
baburdji  between  his  shoulders. 

"  Well,"  said  the  brave  officer,  with  an  effort,  "  I  believe 
that  I  have  had  my  last  campaign.  1  shall  not  come  out 
of  this  alive." 

He  added,  with  emotion,  "  If  only  our  friends  have 
not  fared  as  badly." 

And,  taking  no  further  thought  for  himself,  he  sprang 
out  from  the  hiding  place  which  was  now  nothing  but  a 
trap,  followed  by  the  uninjured  Hindu. 

Four  of  the  adversaries  attacked  him  at  the  same  time. 
The  sight  of  blood  running  from  the  officer's  wounds  en- 
couraged them  in  this  aggression.  Behind  the  first  group 
of  bandits,  Plumptre  could  discern  a  second,  and  among 
them  he  recognized  Ramu. 

''Ah,  demon  !"  he  roared,  '' it  is  you,  then,  who  are 
continually  tracking  us." 

''Yes,"  sneered  the  leader  of  the  assassins,  "it  is  I. 
You  see  that  1  am  persevering,  Major  Plumptre.  You 
belong  to  Siva,  whom  you  have  outraged.  The  hour  has 
come  to  pay  the  price  of  your  crimes." 

He  spoke  in  very  bad  English,  but  his  gesture,  and 
the  expression  of  his  face  rendered  the  meaning  of  his 
words  only  too  clear. 

"Very  well,"  replied  the  Scotchman.  "We  will  go 
before  God  together,  my  boy." 


282  THE  LAND   OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

And,  quickly  aiming  at  the  Dogra,  he  fired. 

Ramu  threw  himself  to  one  side.  The  ball  struck  a 
rock  behind  him.  Ferocious  cries  greeted  this  awkward- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  marksman,  who  was  too  badly 
wounded  to  aim  correctly.  The  bandits  rushed  en  masse 
upon  their  two  opponents. 

Plumptre,  using  his  carbine  as  a  club,  repulsed  the 
first  assault.  Then,  seizing  his  revolver,  he  fired  into 
the  group.  One  man  fell,  while  the  assistant  cook  broke 
the  arm  of  another. 

But  the  brave  Englishman  had  received  two  fresh 
stabs  in  the  struggle.  He  lost  quantities  of  blood.  He 
was  obliged  to  lean  back  against  a  rock  to  keep  from 
falling.  Profiting  by  this  weakening  of  the  enemy,  the 
Thugs  threw  themselves  upon  the  Hindu.  The  latter 
gave  a  hoarse  cry,  and  fell  foaming  at  the  mouth,  with 
eyes  fixed  in  death.  Two  nervous  hands  had  just  tight- 
ened the  silk  noose,  devoted  to  religious  murder,  about  his 
neck. 

The  officer  was  left  alone  confronting  eight  oppo- 
nents. By  a  prodigious  effort  of  will,  he  overcame  his 
increasing  weakness.  He  did  not  wish  the  bandits  to 
have  the  satisfaction  of  taking  him  alive,  for  he  knew 
their  joy  would  be  at  its  height,  if  they  could  sub- 
ject him  to  the  same  fate  as  that  of  his  unfortunate 
domestic. 

With  his  revolver  still  smoking  in  his  hand,  he 
awaited  the  near  approach  of  a  fresh  assault,  so  that 
his  benumbed  hand  might  aim  more  truly. 

It  was  Ramu  himself  who  sprang  to  the  attack. 

Climbing  treacherously  along  the  rocks  he  fianked 
the  enemy,  and  while  Plumptre  with  clouded  eyes, 
beheld   only    the   group   directly   in   front    of   him,    the 


THE  DEATH  OF  A   HERO.  283 

Dogrn  leaped  suddenly  upon  him,  struck  his  rifle  arm 
helpless,  and  took  him  by  the  throat  with  lingers  of 
steel. 

The  major  was  lost  this  time,  unless  some  miracle 
occurred. 

At  the  same  moment  an  angry  shout  rang  out 
above  everyone's  head.  Two  men  who  seemed  to  have 
fallen  from  the  clouds  bounded  among  the  startled 
Thugs. 

With  two  saber-strokes,  Jean  Merrien  had  cleaved  a 
skull  in  two,  and  cut  off  an  arm.  Euzen,  for  his  part, 
had  run  to  the  major,  gripping  the  shoulder  of  the 
Dogra,  who  gave  a  howl  of  rage  and  pain. 

"This  time,  my  lad,"  said  the  Breton,  ''you  are 
going  to  settle  your  account." 

To  liend  him  across  his  herculean  knee,  and  bind  his 
arms  with  the  very  cord  which  he  employed  in  his  mur- 
derous rites,  was  a  matter  of  a  few  seconds  for  Graec'h. 
Then  leaving  his  captive,  whom  he  kicked  into  a  hollow 
of  the  rock,  he  returned  to  the  swooning  major,  but  al- 
ready the  doctor  and  Goulab  had  carried  him  some  dis- 
tance away,  and  with  the  aid  of  Cicely  Weldon,  who 
had  become  a  woman  again  in  this  role  of  Sister  of 
Charity,  had  examined  the  officers  injuries  and  dressed 
his  wounds. 

The  six  surviving  fanatics  had  tried  to  flee.  They 
had  not  been  able  to  get  far,  A  line  of  English  sol- 
diers had  barred  their  way,  and  two  among  them  had 
been  killed  just  as  they  reached  the  clumps  of  rho- 
dodendrons. The  four  others,  carefully  bound,  were 
reserved  for  the  more  inglorious  death  of  the  gallows. 

What  had  taken  place  is  easy  of  explanation.  While 
Major  Plumptre  and  the  two    Indians  entered  the  narrow 


284  THE  LAND  OF   TAWNY  BEASTS. 

defile  which  had  developed  into  a  snare  for  them,  the 
two  other  columns  pursued  their  parallel  marches,  and 
soon  encountered  the  English  detachment  which  was  sent 
from  Darjiling  to  serve  as  an  escort  of  honor.  They  at 
once  endeavored  to  rejoin  their  comrades.  Guided  by 
the  noise  of  firing,  they  had  hastened  their  course,  ar- 
riving too  late,  unfortunately,  to  prevent  the  catastrophe. 
The  assistant  cook  was  dead,  the  major  dying,  and 
Salem-Bun,  who  was  picked  up  in  the  hollow  of  the 
rocks,  was  hardly  better  off.  The  poor  baburdji  had 
been  stabbed  under  the  left  shoulder  blade  by  a  Malay 
kriss.  After  examining  the  wound,  the  doctor  con- 
cluded that  none  of  the  vital  organs  were  involved, 
and  that  the  wounded  man  would  recover,  though 
but  slowly. 

They  laid  both  the  wounded  upon  hastily  con- 
structed litters  of  branches,  and  the  troop  started  sadly 
on.     It  was  a  funeral  train. 

But  before  quitting  the  scene  of  the  drama,  the 
soldiers  demanded  the  just  punishment  of  the  criminals. 

"No,"  replied  the  officer  in  command  of  the  detach- 
ment; ''these  scoundrels  belong  to  the  judges.  The 
gallows  await  them." 

Ramu,  now  standing  in  chains  among  his  four  accom- 
plices, wore  a  smile  of  ironical  disdain. 

"You  will  deliver  me  to  the  Mahadeva,  the  Renewer. 
1  have  fulfilled  my  destiny  in  this  world.  I  shall  be 
taken  again  to  the  bosom  of  the  gods.     I  thank  you." 

The  officer  stopped,  and  cast  upon  the  fanatic  a 
glance  that  made  him  tremble. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "you  do  not  fear  death.  But  how 
will  Siva  receive  the  dishonored  follower  who  was  not 
able  to  escape  disgrace  ?  " 


THE  DEATH  OF  A   HERO.  285 

The  five  captives  had  comprehended  these  terrible 
words.  They  lowered  their  heads,  and  commenced  all 
at  once  to  tremble. 

The  officer  had  made  a  sign.  Five  men  of  the  escort 
approached  and  made  four  of  the  wretches  kneel  down. 
One  of  the  soldiers  carried  upon  his  person  one  of 
the  short  round  razors  used  by  Hindu  barbers.  He  pol- 
ished the  blade. 

"  Observe  what  is  about  to  take  place/'  said  the 
Englishman  to  Ramu.  ''You  will  suffer  the  same  dis- 
grace." 

The  leader  of  the  Thugs  turned  away,  shuddering. 
It  was  evident  that  the  punishment  in  preparation  was 
the  most  horrible  one  that  such  men  could  conceive 
of.  Their  groans  and  prayers  spoke  their  moral  dis- 
tress. 

''Do  your  duty!"  commanded  the  officer,  addressing 
the  soldier. 

The  latter  was  a  Mohammedan.  While  two  of  his  com- 
rades held  the  head  of  each  Thug  motionless,  he  drew 
the  razor  from  the  nape  of  the  neck  to  the  top  of  the 
skull,  shaving  the  thick  hair  in  a  longitudinal  band.  Then 
approaching  the  corpse  of  the  assistant  before  depositing 
it  in  the  grave,  he  dipped  a  cloth  in  the  coagulated  blood 
of  the  wounds  and  rubbed  it  over  the  shaven  heads  and 
faces  of  the  four  fanatics. 

The  officer  regarded  the  bandits  ironically,  murmur- 
ing : 

"  He  who  appears  before  Siva  with  blood  upon  his 
face  is  banished  forever  from  Kailas.  If  some  days  of  life 
are  granted  him,  he  must  climb  the  Kedarnath  road  upon 
his  knees,  and  fast  thirty  days  upon  the  snows  of  Nanda- 
Devi." 


286  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

And  with  a  burst  of  terrible  laughter : 

"You  will  ask  the  judge  at  Darjiliug  to  allow  you 
time  to  purify  yourself." 

Then  turning  toward  Ramu,  who  was  raving  like  a 
maniac,  he  said,  grinding  his  teeth  : 

''Your  turn,  Dogra.  You  are  a  Rajput.  For  you  it  is 
still  more  serious.  You  will  lose  your  rank  and  your 
caste." 

The  bandit  gave  a  desperate  leap  and  overturned  one 
of  the  soldiers  who  held  him,  but  his  foot  slipped  and  he 
fell  into  the  stream  without  doing  himself  any  harm. 

It  was  the  iron  hand  of  Euzen  Graec'h  that  drew  him 
out.    The  Breton  addressed  the  English  officer : 

"Saving  your  presence,  lieutenant,  1  beg  to  attend  to 
this  pretty  scoundrel  myself." 

And  in  less  than  no  time  he  had  shaved  the  wretch, 
not  without  pretty  well  scratching  the  leathery  scalp. 

Then,  as  Ramu  writhed  in  the  fierce  grasp  of  the 
Breton  sailor,  with  hoarse  cries  trying  to  escape  the 
ignominy,  the  colossus  subjected  him  to  the  same  humil- 
iation as  the  other  fanatics. 

"Now,"  exclaimed  the  Breton,  "1  have  sworn  to  my- 
self to  break  this  brute's  back.  1  am  sorry  for  the  judge 
and  the  executioner.  They  will  have  to  content  them- 
selves with  the  other  four." 

In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  before  the  offi- 
cer and  soldiers  could  interfere,  Euzen  had  seized  the 
Thug  by  such  hair  as  he  had  left,  and  drawing  him 
violently  backward  broke  his  spine  over  his  knee. 

Then  raising  the  gasping  body  at  arms'  length  before 
the  eyes  of  the  company,  fascinated  and  stupefied  by 
this  Samson  feat,  he  threw  him  violently  into  the  waters 
of  the  torrent. 


EUZEN    HUKLKD    RAMU    INTO   THE    WATERS   OF    THE   TORRENT. 


288  THE  LAND  OF   TAIVNY  BEASTS. 

'*Go  and  die  as  you  have  lived,  among  your  brothers, 
the  tigers !  " 

Such  was  the  funeral  oration  of  the  Dogra  Rajput 
Ramu,  worshiper  of  the  Fire-God,  and  friend  of  the 
Hindu  doctor,  Madar-Goun. 

The  return  of  the  explorers  was  not  the  triumph 
they  had  hoped  for.  They  came  back  with  heavy  hearts 
and  tearful  eyes. 

Their  noble  comrade  Plumptre  re-entered  Darjiling 
only  to  die  there. 

He  had  at  least  the  satisfaction  of  living  long  enough 
to  see  around  his  bed  the  representatives  of  all  that 
England  and  Europe  counted  as  illustrious  and  worthy. 

The  Lord  Governor  came  in  person  to  visit  him, 
and  to  confer  upon  him  in  the  name  of  the  Queen  the 
title  and  insignia  of  knight. 

The  major,  at  the  very  last,   called   Merrien  to  him. 

''My  dear  friend,"  he  said,  pressing  his  hand,  "you 
are  the  most  loyal  man  in  the  world,  and  I  regret  not 
having  known  you  earlier.  Pardon  my  ill-temper  on  the 
journey.  I  have  for  Miss  Weldon  the  same  feeling  as 
yourself.  Marry  her !  You  are  worthy  of  one  another, 
and  you  will  be  a  perfect  couple." 

The  dying  man  said  the  same  to  Cicely,  weeping 
as  he  spoke.  Then  joining  the  hands  of  the  two  young 
people,  he  added  : 

'M  hope  you  will  take  my  poor  Salem  into  your 
service  when  he  is  recovered.  MacGregor  gives  me  hope 
that  that  will  be  soon.  He  well  deserves  it.  As  to 
myself,  will  you  make  me  one  promise  ?  " 

''Whatever  you  desire,  my  friend,  we  will  do,"  de- 
clared Jean  Merrien  through  his  sobs. 

A  pale  smile  played  about  the  lips  of  the  dying  man. 


THE  DEATH  OF  A   HERO.  289 

''  It  will  be  very  difficult,  but  you  are  not  people 
to  stop  at  difficulties.  1  have  carried  with  me  a  de- 
lightful memory  of  the  valley  that  we  discovered  on 
the  bank^  of  the  Bdrun.  1  have  left  you  in  my  will 
the  sum  of  two  thousand  pounds,  with  the  request 
that  you  will  bear  my  remains  to  that  enchanting  spot. 
If  necessary,  you  can  buy  the  valley  of  the  Mahardjd- 
of  Nepal,  and  found  there  some  benevolent  institution  for 
the  poor  Englishmen  who  do  not  know  where  to  find 
shelter." 

"We  promise  it,  my  friend,"  responded  Merrien  and 
Cicely  solemnly. 

These  were  the  last  words  of  Major  Plumptre. 

At  Ddrjiling,  then  at  Calcutta,  they  giWQ  him  an  im- 
posing funeral.  Then  the  same  company  which  had  fol- 
lowed the  brave  officer  to  his  last  dwelling  place  went 
to  congratulate  Jean  Merrien  and  Cicely  Weldon,  whose 
marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  Catholic  church  of  the 
capital  of  India. 

Euzen  Graec'h  was  Merrien's  best  man,  and  Morley, 
the  faithful  companion  of  the  American,  filled  the  same 
office  for  her. 

Dr.  MacGregor  led  her  to  the  altar.  Little  Christi 
figured  as  a  choir  boy.  While  belonging  to  the  sect  of 
Vishnu,  Goulab  bore  himself  with  much  composure  in 
the  church,  and  Salem-Bun,  who,  fortunately,  had  re- 
covered, forgot  that  he  was  a  Mussulman  in  admiring  in 
bridal  dress,  and  with  long  fair  hair  almost  grown  out 
again,  her  whom  he  had  so  long  beheld  in  the  mascu- 
line costume  that  she  had  worn  with  so  much  ease 
and  jauntiness. 

Finally,  the  evening  before  the  explorers  with  their 
attendants    took    passage    for    Europe    on    one    of   the 


290 


THE  LAND   OF    TAWNY  BEASTS. 


steamers  of  the  Messageries  Maritimes,  the  Lord  Gov- 
ernor gave   a   dinner  for  them. 

'Ms  this  the  last  campaign  you  wish  to  make, 
madame?"  he  asked  gayly  of  Cicely. 

''Milord,"  replied  the  young  v^oman,  laughing, 
"Scripture  teaches  that  the  wife  must  follow  her  hus- 
band. Now  my  husband  intends  to  visit,  next  year, 
the  Trans-Himalayas,  to  reach  the  source  of  the  Tsang- 
bo,  and  penetrate  as  far  as  Lhassa  into  the  cavern  of 
mysteries." 

"Then  I  may  bid  you  au-revoirf'  responded  the 
viceroy,  gallantly  kissing  the  hand  of  the  brave   woman. 


■^\/ 


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